Northern Powergrid explain cause of mass power cut in Hartlepool and East Durham that affected 55,000 customers

Thousands of homes across Hartlepool and East Durham were left without power and phone signal as the region was hit by a power cut last night.

The outage happened shortly before 9.30pm on Friday, June 20, with some homes losing power and some losing phone signal.

Hundreds of homes across Hartlepool and East Durham were without power last night (June 20) as the region was hit by a power cut.

placeholder image — Hundreds of homes across Hartlepool and East Durham were without power last night (June 20) as the region was hit by a power cut.

All affected areas have had their power restored.

According to Northern Powergrid, the electricity distribution network operator for the North East, around 55,000 customers were affected across the Hartlepool, Peterlee and Billingham areas.

A spokesperson from Northern Powergrid said: “We can confirm that at approximately 21:20 on Friday, 20th June, we were alerted to a power cut affecting customers across the Peterlee, Billingham and Hartlepool areas, affecting around 55,000 customers.

“Around 40,000 customers had their power restored within the first 3 hours and all but 27 customers had their power restored throughout the evening.

“We are still actively working in the area to fully resolve the issue as quickly as possible for the remaining customers without power, and we appreciate their continued patience and understanding during this time.”

In a message sent to customers on Saturday, June 21, the disruption is believed to have been “due to an equipment failure caused by the extreme heat”.