What happened

Nuuk lost electricity citywide during a winter storm after very strong winds in Utoqqarmiut Kangerluarsunnguat, or Buksefjord, caused a fault on the transmission line from the Buksefjord hydropower plant. Nukissiorfiit later explained that two conductors moved close enough to short-circuit; the fault was not at the line's fjord-spanning section. The outage also interrupted water and district heating for thousands of residents during the cold night. After unsuccessful attempts to reconnect hydropower, the utility started emergency diesel generators and restored neighbourhoods progressively: about half the city by 02:15, 90 percent by 03:45 and all electricity, water and heat by 04:30. Hydropower again supplied the city from 13:57. The event is recorded as a weather-driven transmission failure, not sabotage.

When cited sources give different casualty, damage or spill figures for this event, they’re reported side by side above rather than merged into one number. See how confidence levels work.