Thousands of homes, offices and shops across central and east London lost electricity on the morning of 5 October 2026 after a fault developed on an underground power cable, according to UK Power Networks, the company that distributes electricity across the capital and the south east.
The outage began at around 10:30am local time and affected 32 postcodes, according to reports citing UK Power Networks.
Which areas lost power
The affected postcodes stretched from the City of London financial district through east London, covering areas including E1, E2, E5, E8, E9, EC2A, EC2M, EC3A, N1, N5, NW8, W2 and IG3, according to reporting based on UK Power Networks' postcode list.
Liverpool Street station, one of the busiest rail terminals in the country, was among the locations affected, with departure boards going blank. Essex Road station also lost platform lighting, and trains stopped calling there while power was out, according to a live-updates report from London-Now, part of the Newsquest local news network, and AOL UK's live coverage.
Some traffic signals and CCTV cameras in the affected zone were also knocked out, though rail and bus services otherwise continued to run, according to AOL UK's reporting, which said TfL buses operated with extra caution.
Cause and restoration
UK Power Networks attributed the fault to an underground electricity cable in the local network. The company said engineers worked to divert power around the damaged section in order to restore supply to the E8 postcode and surrounding streets while repairs continued.
The operator initially estimated that full repairs would be completed between midday and 1pm, with some customers expected to see their power return sooner. By the time of an early update, UK Power Networks said power had already been restored to 4,989 customers, while several thousand more remained without electricity. According to AOL UK's live coverage, power had been fully restored across the affected area by 12:09pm, within the originally estimated window.
UK Power Networks advised customers still without power to check its live power cut map at ukpowernetworks.co.uk by entering their postcode, or to call its customer line for updates.
Impact on businesses and residents
Offices in the Finsbury Square area were reported to be in complete darkness during the outage, AOL UK reported. Apex Pharmacy on Essex Road said it was unable to access the computer systems needed to process prescription orders while power was down, according to a staff member quoted by AOL UK.
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