STELCO calls for safer excavation after repeated damage to underground grid

State Electric Company Limited (STELCO) has urged contractors to take greater precautions when carrying out excavation and construction work after underground electricity cables were damaged twice within days in Hulhumalé Phase 1.
In a post on social media, the utility company said the latest incident occurred on Kuredhimaa Hingun, where a high-voltage cable was damaged by a private party carrying out excavation work for a construction project.
The damage resulted in electricity being cut to parts of Hulhumalé Phase 1 on Monday.
STELCO initially announced the outage at around 5:23 pm, describing it as a technical problem affecting its distribution network. The company later restored electricity to all affected areas at around 6:45 pm.
According to STELCO, subsequent assessment of the incident established that the disruption had been caused by damage to the underground high-voltage network during excavation.
The company said the incident followed a similar case last Thursday, when another underground cable was damaged, resulting in electricity disruptions across parts of Phase 1.
STELCO said repeated damage to electricity infrastructure during construction work was a serious concern, particularly because a single incident involving the underground distribution network can disrupt services to a large number of households and businesses.
The company called on contractors, developers and other parties carrying out road excavation or construction work to properly plan their activities and take necessary precautions before digging in areas where electricity infrastructure is located.
STELCO said those undertaking such work should exercise greater responsibility to ensure underground power cables are not damaged.
Hulhumalé has experienced several electricity disruptions in recent months, with outages affecting different areas of both Phase 1 and Phase 2.
Rapid residential and commercial development in Hulhumalé has also increased electricity demand, prompting STELCO to undertake projects aimed at strengthening generation and distribution capacity in the city.
The electricity networks of Malé and Hulhumalé include extensive underground high-voltage infrastructure, making coordination particularly important when excavation is carried out for buildings, roads and other utility projects.
STELCO has previously undertaken upgrades to the interconnected electricity network serving Malé and Hulhumalé as part of efforts to improve reliability and accommodate growing demand.
The latest warning comes as construction activity continues across Hulhumalé, where new residential buildings, commercial developments and infrastructure projects are being undertaken in both phases of the city.
STELCO said preventing avoidable damage to the network is essential to reducing disruptions and the inconvenience caused to the public.