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London Power Cuts

As of 3 Nov, 16:17 GMT, UK Power Networks and SSEN reported 46 customers affected by unplanned power cuts in London.

Three UK Power Networks licences serve most of London, while SSEN's Southern licence covers west London boroughs such as Ealing, Hounslow and Hillingdon. The London licence recorded the fewest interruptions in Great Britain in 2024/25, at 11.2 per 100 customers and 10.5 minutes lost. Two transmission failures stand out: on 28 August 2003 a fault cut supply to 476,000 customers in south London for about 40 minutes, and the North Hyde substation fire of 20 March 2025 cut power to 71,655 customers and led Heathrow to close.

Customers affected
46
6 open incidents
Network operators
2
About 4,121,357 customers in this area
Weather warnings
0
Met Office
Major past events
5
Storm Eunice

Who to contact in London

The network operators responsible for faults in London. Search your address on an official power cut map to confirm which one is yours.

United Kingdom network operators, power cut map links and phone numbers
Network operatorOfficial power cut mapReport by phone
UK Power NetworksOpen ↗105 or 0800 31 63 105
SSENOpen ↗105

If you see a fallen power line, stay at least 10 metres away and call 999.

Current power cuts in London

Largest open unplanned incidents, as of 3 Nov, 16:17 GMT

AreaOperatorCustomers
BR6 7UK Power Networks21
SE15 2UK Power Networks18
RM5 2UK Power Networks4

Live data: UK Power Networks open data, CC BY 4.0 · Supported by Northern Powergrid Open Data · SSEN open data, CC BY 4.0 · Supported by NGED Open Data

London on the United Kingdom map

North East: 424 customers outNorth West: limited dataYorkshire and the Humber: 1,193 customers outEast Midlands: 2 customers outWest Midlands: 154 customers outEast of England: 22 customers outLondon: 46 customers outSouth East: 267 customers outSouth West: 716 customers outWales: limited dataScotland: 84 customers outNorthern Ireland: limited dataNorth EastNorth WestEast MidlandsWest MidlandsEast of EnglandLondonSouth EastSouth WestWalesScotlandNorthern Ireland
United Kingdom has 12 nations and regions, shown over a 800 by 900 map.

Boundaries: Office for National Statistics, licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2025.

Weather warnings

Met Office lists no active warnings for this area.

Source: Met Office

Largest places in London

  • Croydon
  • Barnet
  • Ealing
  • Newham
  • Brent
  • Wandsworth

Nearby nations and regions

Reliability in London

Average minutes without power and interruptions per customer, as published by the regulator or operator

Network operatorTime without powerInterruptionsYear
UK Power Networks26 min0.342025
SSEN55 min0.452025

Definitions vary by source, for example in how major storms are treated, so these figures aren't a ranking. See each operator's page for the exact scope.

Major power cuts affecting London

Totals may cover every area affected, not only this one. Full accounts are on the United Kingdom page.

  1. South London blackout

    28 August 2003

    476,000 customers affected

    At 18:20 the fault cut supply to 476,000 customers and 724 MW of demand, about 20% of London's demand at the time, and caused major rail and Underground disruption at rush hour.

    Source: Ofgem/PB Power, Report on support to investigations into the recent blackouts in London and West Midlands, Volume 1 (2004)

  2. North Hyde substation fire

    20 March 2025

    71,655 customers affected

    The fire began at 23:21 on 20 March 2025 and cut power to 71,655 domestic and commercial customers in west London, and to part of Heathrow's private network.

    Source: NESO, North Hyde Review: final report (30 June 2025)

  3. Storm Eunice

    18 February 2022

    1,700,000 customers affected

    Source: DESNZ/BEIS, Energy Emergencies Executive Committee: Storm Arwen Review, final report (June 2022)

  4. 9 August 2019 power outage

    9 August 2019

    1,150,000 customers affected

    Source: Ofgem, 9 August 2019 power outage report

  5. Great Storm of 1987

    15 October 1987

    Source: Met Office, The Great Storm of 1987

London power cut news

London power cut FAQ

Who do I contact about a power cut in London?

UK Power Networks (105 or 0800 31 63 105) and SSEN (105) repair the local network in London, which includes Croydon, Barnet and Ealing.

Is there a power cut in London right now?

As of 3 Nov, 16:17 GMT, UK Power Networks and SSEN reported 46 customers affected by unplanned power cuts in London. Counts are placed by postcode area, so they are approximate near nation or region boundaries.

What was the biggest power cut in London?

Storm Eunice (18 February 2022) affected about 1,700,000 customers across the affected areas.

How reliable is the power supply in London?

UK Power Networks reported 26 min of interruption per customer in 2025, and SSEN reported 55 min of interruption per customer in 2025. Scope differs between sources, so treat these as a guide and not a ranking.

Cite this page

You may reuse our derived data under CC BY 4.0 with attribution. Live data is credited to each network operator's open-data licence below. Weather warnings are © Crown copyright, Met Office.

PowerOutageTracker.com. "London Power Cuts." Accessed 3 November 2026. https://poweroutagetracker.com/world/united-kingdom/london
Sources (6)