What happened in London?
City AM reports 33 affected postcode areas; Anadolu reports around 32. Both cite UK Power Networks. The disruption covered parts of east London and the City, including Shoreditch, and began around 10:30 London time. The operator attributed it to an underground network fault. The Standard's list also includes northern postcodes and NW8 7 and W2 3. GB News also names areas around Islington, Hackney and Westminster.
Departure screens went blank at Liverpool Street and shops lost power. At Essex Road, a loss of platform lighting meant trains could not stop, according to reporting by Anadolu and City AM. The effects therefore extended beyond homes and offices to transport infrastructure. TfL also confirmed that some traffic signals were affected.
Restoration reported later that day
The Standard, City AM and Anadolu report that supplies were restored, citing the operator. Their updates give different restoration times, so there is no single reliable outage duration for every address. Check the operator's postcode service for the current status of a particular address.
At 12:12 London time, an X user asked when power would return in E1. UK Power Networks replied at 12:32, requesting the exact address to investigate. It has not been confirmed whether this report concerned the same cable fault.
We have not independently established when power returned at every individual address.
A charged phone is only one part of the plan
Ofcom notes that digital landlines depend on mains power unless a suitable battery backup is available. Keeping a phone charged does not by itself keep a router or fibre terminal running.
For a small backup setup, list the equipment you actually need, check its power requirements and then estimate runtime. A UPS may bridge a brief interruption; a power station is not automatically a seamless UPS. Backup at home also cannot guarantee that the provider's network remains available.
Still without power? Check your address
For an address in London, check UK Power Networks' live postcode service or call 105 in Great Britain. This article records the reported incident; it is not a live outage map. Outside Great Britain, use your local network operator's reporting service.