Power outage affecting 30,000 households in Breda; Multiple people trapped in elevators

A big power outage is affecting almost 30,000 households, businesses, and institutions in Breda. In the north and east of the city, buildings don’t have power, some traffic lights aren’t working, and at least seven people reported being trapped in elevators. Breda Central Station is also in the dark.

Grid operator Enexis reported that the outage occurred at 8:21 a.m. and was affecting 29,726 customers. “Our technicians are present to resolve the fault. Apologies for the inconvenience. Hopefully, the outage will be resolved soon,” the grid operator said on X. It could not give an estimate on how long the outage would last.

The police reported that multiple traffic lights were not working due to the power outage. “So pay close attention to the traffic signs on the road,” the police said.

Veiligheidsregio Midden- en West-Brabant received at least seven reports of people stuck in an elevator, a spokesperson told Omroep Brabant. “That is really a lot.”

The cause of the outage is not yet known. The issue is in a large high-medium voltage station on Terheijdenseweg in Breda. According to Enexis, the fault triggered the automatic protection, which disconnected part of the electricity grid.