Greenland's capital restores power, heating after storm damaged line

The power is out in Greenland's capital Nuuk, during the night between Saturday, January 24, and Sunday, Jan 25, 2026. Ritzau Scanpix/Mads Claus Rasmussen via REUTERS

Greenland's capital restored power early on Sunday after a storm damaged a transmission cable and left thousands without electricity and heating through the cold winter night.

Electricity suddenly cut off across Nuuk late on Saturday, witnesses said.

The Nukissiorfiit utility - which supplies Nuuk from the Buksefjord hydropower plant southeast of the capital - said power came back online around 4:30 a.m. (0630 GMT).

Greenlanders are used to outages, often caused by harsh weather damaging the cable which runs through rugged terrain and spans two fjords.

Three days before the power cut, the government updated recommendations for crisis preparedness - including advice for people to keep five days' worth of water and food - in the wake of tensions over US President Donald Trump'sdemands to acquire the Danish territory.