A widespread power cut has left nearly a million people without electricity across large parts of England and Wales, causing significant disruption to homes and transport networks. National Grid confirmed the outage was triggered by issues with two power generators but stated the problem has now been resolved.
Blackouts were reported in the Midlands, South East, South West, North East of England, and Wales. The Department for Transport acknowledged the knock-on effects on travel, working with Network Rail to restore systems. At the height of Friday rush hour, all trains out of King's Cross were suspended, leaving hundreds stranded. Passenger Zoe Hebblethwaite described the scene as 'absolute mayhem'.
By 21:00 BST, over 1,000 passengers remained stuck at King's Cross, with operators advising against travel for the rest of the day. One traveller, Dayna McAlpine, reported a 13-hour journey from Edinburgh to London, with food running out and passengers forced to sit in the dark. Similar disruption occurred at Waterloo station, where no trains were departing.
In Battersea, traffic lights failed, causing chaotic scenes. Harriet Jackson described an 'apocalyptic' situation on Northcote Road. Newcastle Airport experienced a 15-minute blackout, with alarms sounding and passengers using phone torches, though Heathrow, Gatwick, and Luton airports were unaffected.
Regional power companies reported varying impacts: Western Power Distribution had 500,000 customers affected, Northern Powergrid 110,000, and Electricity North West at least 26,000. UK Power Networks said 300,000 were affected in London and the South East. National Grid stated the system operated as planned by disconnecting demand to protect itself, allowing quick restoration.
Energy watchdog Ofgem has requested an urgent report from National Grid to understand the failure and determine further steps. The incident raises questions about the resilience of the UK's power infrastructure, with two plants—including a gas and steam-fired station in Cam—implicated in the outage.
