Fire and power cut alarm city centre

By Humphrey Carter A power cut and simultaneous car park fire in the centre of Palma caused a great deal of alarm yesterday morning. The two incidents at around 10.45am were unrelated. Within minutes of all the power going down in the area around the Jaime III main shopping and business district, the sight of Local Police surrounding an entrance to the Paseo Mallorca under-ground car park and fire fighters rushing to the scene caused a brief moment of concern for local residents. Power company Gesa-Endesa said that the blackout was caused by a short circuit at a sub-station in Santa Catalina but were unable to explain the cause of the problem. '000 of their clients were hit in the centre of Palma, especially in the areas around the Clinica Rotger, the Ramblas, the Paseo Mallorca, Santa Catalina, Jaume III and Joan Miró. Gesa-Endesa claimed yesterday afternoon that 14'000 clients had their power restored within a matter of minutes. However, in the high street, bars, cafes, shops and businesses were left without power for at least half an hour. The snap blackout caused serious traffic problems as traffic lights were knocked out and traffic police were quickly deployed to the city centre to control the busy Friday morning traffic. Needless to say, however, Jaime III and surrounding area soon converted into one enormous traffic jam. Full power was restored to all the affected areas within an hour and by mid-day the centre of the city had returned to normal. This was the first power cut to have hit the city this summer, despite fears and concerns that the Majorcan power grid would not be able to cope with the annual surge in demand for power during the summer season. Gesa-Endesa issued assurances back in the Spring that all measures were being taken to make sure that the grid would be able to meet the region's power demands this summer and, so far, there have been few problems.