Essential shops and businesses in our village centre working through this second ‘lockdown’ were among those left without electricity early this afternoon when there was yet another major power outage.*
Those relying on mains power in order to continue their work had to sit out the interruption to their supplies, which happened at around a quarter to two – also triggering alarms in some High Street premises. It lasted initially for around 15 minutes before being restored briefly but then failing again for a further forty minutes. Western Power Distribution (WPD) has confirmed 1,985 customers were affected at one stage but say 79% were reconnected within an hour.
Others around Ruddington experienced a shorter power cut during this time, whilst some homes in our village were still off as night fell. WPD worked to restore most properties by 4.30pm however around 16 homes down Flawforth Lane – closest to the fault – are set to remain without electricity until mid-evening. Engineers have identified a failure in an 11,000 volt overhead pole termination at its junction with the underground cable network. They’re investigating the probable cause as they repair the fault – but suspect either a “vermin strike” may be to blame or that it may be “age related”.
It’s actually the FIFTH significant power outage in Ruddington so far this year. Previous blackouts include along Wilford Road in February, on Old Station Drive in April, Elms Park in May and the Brookside Road area just last month.
With hundreds more houses now being built in our village it’s bound to raise questions about whether the existing supply infrastructure is in good enough condition to be able to withstand all the extra future demand on the National Grid locally.*
*UPDATE 27th DECEMBER 2020 3.10pm
The SIXTH significant power cut this year in Ruddington has increased concerns that our village electricity infrastructure is no longer up to the job. However, Western Power Distribution says today’s outage is localised to just the Elms Park area.
The outage was first reported at 2.24pm but apparently is only affecting around 116 properties at postcodes NG11 6NU, NG11 6NJ, NG11 6NQ, NG11 6GU, NG11 6GZ, NG11 6NH, NG11 6GT.
The company hopes electricity should be restored by 5.30pm. Updates >>HERE<<.
