Hundreds of families in Agder are without electricity due to the heavy snow. The mayor of Iveland hopes the power will come back before they go to the barn.
– We have power generators, because we are good at self-preparation here in the villages. But it’s a bit complicated to get started, Mayor Terje Møkjåland tells VG.
The figures on how many are affected change all the time. At most, more than 3,000 households in the county were left without electricity, according to the Agder Energi website.
The most affected are Vennesla, Iveland, Lindesnes and Birkenes.
While Terje Møkjåland is in politics, his wife Karianne is in charge of the stable. There, the lactating cows are waiting for the evening grooming and electricity is needed for this.
Iveland north of Kristiansand has 1,330 inhabitants. For 320 families – perhaps more than half of the rural population – there was a power cut on Tuesday evening.
– There are a lot of candles here for now. We build fires and have plenty of wood, so it hasn’t gotten cold in the house yet, says Terje Møkjåland.
The mayor of Iveland lost power to his house at ten to seven. He was a little surprised.
– At the moment there is no wind and there is light powdery snow here. I would have preferred to think that the current would have gone out if we had a change in the weather and a very heavy snowfall.
Heavy snow fell elsewhere in Agder than on Iveland.
– There is a lot of heavy, wet snow, especially inland and this means that the snow causes trees to bend over the lines, which leads to power outages in places, May Britt Risbruna, Agder Energi Nett Press Officer, a VG.
He says Birkenes and further east towards Åmli are hardest hit by the power outage. There was also a breach in Vennesla and Iveland.
– In some places we have to have an extra team to solve problems and clear the lines. Hard to say when power will return. Our teams work hard, says Risbruna.
This is how Agder Energi writes in a message to its customers:
«There has been a fault in the electrical grid which has resulted in a loss of energy in your area, we are working to find out where the fault occurred. This can cause the current to return and then drop again, this can happen up to multiple times. Until we have identified the location of the failure and the cause of the accident, it is difficult to say when the power will be permanently restored again.”
– Now they have gained momentum
As soon as the mayor of Iveland spoke to VG, power was restored after two and a half hours of darkness.
– Now they have caught up, Agder Energi, laughs Terje Møkjåland.
His wife Karianne also got it.
– She immediately jumped into the stable, says the mayor.
Around 30 lactating cows are waiting in the barn.
But the couple’s three children have been asleep for some time.
You want advice
Tomorrow, Wednesday, snow will turn to rain and then snow will fall off the lines, according to the press watch, which believes the forecast rainy weather will improve the situation.
It was still snowing Tuesday night a few miles off the coast.
Agder Energi Nett would like to receive reports from the public about lines that have fallen along the road. They can then call the error reporting telephone number 38 60 72 72, active 24 hours a day.
