Power cut hits thousands of London homes - prompting some amusing responses from Londoners

Lights out: file picture shows a power cut in London
Rachel Blundy19 November 2015

A power cut hit thousands of homes in London tonight - prompting some amusing responses from Londoners.

About 1500 homes in south west London, including Balham and Tooting, were left without lights for several hours after a technical fault at about 4.30pm today.

Another 1300 homes on the London-Hertfordshire border close to Waltham Cross were also affected by the power outage.

A spokeswoman for UK Power Networks said its engineers were working to resolve the problem tonight, adding that power would be restored "in stages".

She said the power outages in London were not caused by the recent stormy weather but were instead due to a fault with a piece of equipment.

Despite being faced with the prospect of darkness until 8.30pm, many Londoners seemed to take the electricity problems in good humour.

One person said: "Wonder how long the power cut was on? #balham *eyes fridge and freezer items suspiciously."

BBC journalist Mario Cacciottolo said: "There's a power cut in my part of Balham. How dramatic. It's like being in Malta in the 1980s. And in the 2010s, come to think of it."

Comparing London to Ghana, another Twitter user said: "My whole road just had a power cut.. Dumsor [Ghanaian term which means power outage] has reached London".

Others appeared less patient, with one person tweeting: "Power cut in Balham booooo".

Another Twitter user wrote: "This power cut is ridiculous. Living by candle light."

Meanwhile other parts of the UK were also left without power yesterday after Storm Barney ravaged the country.

In North and Mid Wales, about 6,000 homes were left without power when the gale-force winds hit.

Scottish Power said its engineers worked hard throughout the night to tackle the problem, with just 150 customers waiting to be reconnected on Wednesday morning.

In the West Midlands 2,500 homes lost their electricity supply, according to Western Power Distribution, and Welsh residents were also badly affected.

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