LONDON — Thousands of Londoners were hit by a major power outage on Monday morning after an underground electricity cable fault cut supplies across dozens of postcode areas, disrupting homes, businesses and parts of the capital’s transport network.
BREAKING: Power cut plunges London into chaos as thousands could be left without electricity for HOURS https://t.co/jTinDEbvgV
— GB News (@GBNEWS) October 5, 2026
The outage struck at around 10:30 a.m. on October 5, with UK Power Networks reporting disruption across 32 postcode sectors. The affected area stretched across parts of east and north London and the City, including neighbourhoods around Hackney, Islington, Shoreditch and Bethnal Green.
The disruption quickly reached beyond homes and offices. Passenger information screens went blank at London Liverpool Street station, while trains temporarily stopped calling at Essex Road because the station’s platform lighting was affected.
Underground cable fault blamed for London power cut
UK Power Networks, which maintains electricity networks across London, the South East and East of England, identified a fault on an underground electricity cable as the cause of the outage.
Engineers were sent to investigate the network and restore supplies. The operator initially estimated that affected customers could have electricity back between midday and 1 p.m., although restoration estimates can change as engineers assess a fault.
Customers still experiencing problems can use the UK Power Networks power-cut service to search by postcode, track an outage and report a loss of supply.
Power restored to nearly 5,000 customers
Restoration work produced results during the morning, with 4,989 customers reported to have had their electricity restored. Thousands more were still reported without power at that stage.
The figure is important because it does not represent the total number originally affected. Electricity can return to different streets at different times as network operators isolate faulty equipment and redirect supplies through other parts of the system.
That means two properties relatively close to each other can experience different restoration times, while some customers may also notice temporary interruptions or flickering as work continues.
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32 postcode sectors affected across London
The reported outage footprint was unusually broad, covering postcode sectors from east London and the City to parts of north and west London.
E1: E1 5, E1 6, E1 7
E2: E2 0, E2 8, E2 9
E5: E5 0
E8: E8 1, E8 2, E8 3, E8 4
E9: E9 5, E9 6, E9 7
EC2: EC2A 2, EC2A 3, EC2A 4, EC2M 3, EC2M 4
EC3: EC3A 7
IG3: IG3 8
N1: N1 0, N1 1, N1 2, N1 3, N1 4, N1 5, N1 7, N1 8
N5: N5 2
NW8: NW8 7
W2: W2 3
The footprint included parts of Bethnal Green, Shoreditch, Hackney, Dalston, Stoke Newington, Islington, the City of London, Ilford, St John’s Wood and Bayswater.
Liverpool Street and Essex Road face disruption
The power failure became particularly visible at Liverpool Street station, where passenger information boards went blank. The station is a major gateway for commuters travelling between London and destinations across the east of England.
At Essex Road in Islington, Great Northern said trains could not stop because the power cut had affected platform lighting. Passengers were advised to travel via Old Street or Highbury & Islington instead and allow additional time.
The incident comes as London commuters have faced other infrastructure-related interruptions. Swikblog has also covered Victoria line disruption affecting London passengers and the planned traffic-free changes affecting Oxford Street, both relevant to people navigating disruption in the capital.
Large outage shows how one fault can spread disruption
The scale of Monday’s incident matters because the affected postcodes contain a dense mix of homes, offices, shops and transport infrastructure. A loss of electricity can therefore create secondary problems even where the outage itself is relatively short.
Businesses may lose payment terminals and computer systems, residential buildings can experience problems with lifts and entry systems, and transport operators can lose lighting or passenger-information equipment.
An underground cable fault can also take longer to physically repair than an easily accessible equipment failure. Restoring customers does not necessarily mean the damaged cable itself has already been repaired; operators can sometimes reroute electricity while permanent work continues.
Residents should check their postcode for restoration updates
People who remain without electricity should check their individual postcode rather than relying solely on the original restoration estimate, because supply can return progressively across the affected network.
UK Power Networks also advises customers to call 105 to report or obtain information about a power cut. Anyone who sees damaged electrical equipment or cables should stay clear and report the hazard rather than attempting to inspect it.
With supplies already returning to thousands of customers, attention now turns to how quickly the remaining affected properties can be reconnected and when UK Power Networks can fully resolve the underground cable fault.
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