North West Electricity issue statement after thousands of Bispham homes plunged into darkness
By Emma Downey
Published 21st Jan 2026, 13:14 GMT
North West Electricity has issued a statement after thousands of homes in Bispham were plunged into darkness yesterday evening.
Many residents took to Facebook asking had anyone else experienced no power.
One said they were on their tanning bed when it suddenly shut off, while another added that they had been swimming in Moor Park before being kicked out as the pool closed.
A spokesperson for Electricity North West attributed the blackout to an underground cable fault.
They said: “There was an underground cable fault at 5pm affecting 1637 customers.
“1557 customers were restored within two minutes by network automation and the remaining customers were restored by 7pm following repair work.”
Why do power cuts happen?
Power cuts can happen for a variety of reasons such as:
- Fallen tress that make contact with power lines or equipment.
- Theft and vandalism of equipment and substations.
- Transient fault caused by broken cables.
- Planned maintenance to care for and improve the network.
- Fire or flood damage to our equipment or substations.
- Animal interference like squirrels or birds contacting with power lines.
- Accidental damage by contractors and customers.