Parts of West Trinidad, from Diego Martin down to Chaguaramas, were left in darkness this evening after a fire broke out at the TTEC Westmoorings sub-station around 6:30 pm.
Annabelle Brasnell, TTEC corporate communications manager spoke with the Guardian in a telephone interview this evening, as fire officers were trying to contain and put out the blaze.
"Once they have brought everything under control, we expect that we can transfer the load to another transformer and return service to affected customers."
She did not give a more precise estimate of when affected people would have service restored.
A statement from the Facebook page of Minister of Communication, Gerald Hadeed, said, "There are auxiliary power lines for some areas in Diego Martin and areas west that are now without electricity. Power will be transferred through these power lines as quickly as possible to get electricity to those affected as soon as possible. T&TEC, ODPM, emergency response units and members of the government are coordinating. An update will be provided to the public by T&TEC in a short while."
Asked about the cause of the blaze, Brasnell said, "We have no details. We can't determine the cause until the blaze is out and Fire Services give us some more information about the situation."
Around 6.30pm, people were tweeting about a loud explosion in the Diego Martin area. Minutes later, people were posting photos of the blaze at the TTEC sub-station near West Mall.
Brasnell said the incident could affect "all of west Trinidad, from Diego Martin down to Chaguaramas".