Electricity throughout Israel failed today at 3 p.m. (Israel time), plunging the country into its second nation-wide blackout in eight months. Officials of the Electric Corp. said the cause was a malfunction of a major transformer in Caesaria. They ruled out any possibility of sabotage.
Energy Minister Yitzhak Modai immediately named an inquiry committee to determine exactly what had happened to the transformer, particularly since an earlier investigations committee had checked out the blackout last October. Officials said the October committee had mode several proposals including purchase and installation of special equipment in the system. The equipment has been ordered but has not arrived.
Five hours after the loss of all electrical power, many parts of Israel, including Jerusalem, still had no electricity. Officials said they hoped to restore full power during the evening.
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