Underground cable fault plunges 32 London postcodes into darkness, knocking out Liverpool Street screens

From the Newshound archive · first published 6 October 2026.

A fault on UK Power Networks' underground cable network in the Shoreditch area knocked out electricity to several thousand properties across 32 London postcodes from 10.30am, casting City offices into darkness and blanking out information boards at Liverpool Street station. Engineers rerouted power in stages, with full supply restored by 11.08am. TfL confirmed traffic signals and CCTV in Hackney were briefly affected but there was no road or rail disruption.

The outage hit a wide arc of London, taking in Hackney, Islington, Westminster, the City and east London postcodes as far as Ilford.

Liverpool Street commuters were left milling in confusion for around 15 minutes as all customer information screens went blank, though Network Rail confirmed no trains were delayed.

UK Power Networks apologised and said engineers worked 'as quickly as is safely possible' to reroute electricity before full restoration at 11.08am.