Electricity North West predicted the power cut could continue overnight
21:28, 15 Dec 2025Updated 21:28, 15 Dec 2025
Residents sat around candles after around 65 homes were hit by the power cut(Image: Manchester Evening News)
Residents in homes in Trafford were forced to ‘huddle around candles’ after their power cut out on Monday night (December 15).
As of 9pm, around 65 homes in the Stretford area were plunged into darkness with alarms blaring after an ‘unexpected incident’ with underground cables. Electricity North West predicted the works may take until 6.30am on Tuesday to fix, leaving residents without power overnight.
One resident, of Audley Avenue, said her and her partner were unable to make a hot drink or any dinner following the power cut and shared pictures huddled around candles, with the house ‘absolutely freezing’.
“As I was driving home from work my partner called to say there had been a power cut. This was around 6.15pm,” she said. “I got home and the electric was working, but then 15 minutes later everything went off and house alarms were going off all down the street.
“I’ve not been able to cook dinner so have had to resort to getting a takeaway. Our neighbours next door have young children, so I nipped round to see how they were doing and the littlest boy is scared.
“The last update we had said it would be fixed around 6.30am tomorrow, but that’s not set it stone. It’s absolutely freezing and there’s no heating. So we’ve had to get a load of blankets down. We are huddling around candles.
“We have no idea when our electric will be back on and we are currently sat around a couple of candles. We also have food in the fridge and freezer that will likely be affected by this too. Its ridiculous.”
Electricity North West said that postcodes M32 9TF, M32 9TG, M32 9TQ, M32 9TL and M32 9TP were impacted by the power outage at Gorse Hill in Stretford. Photos showed a number of affected homes in the area without lights on.
Homes were plunged into darkness(Image: Manchester Evening News)
An update online read: “This power cut has been caused by an unexpected incident with the underground cable that provides electricity to your home or business.
“We didn’t know before your electricity went off that this was going to happen but now we know, rest assured we will get your power back on safely and as quickly as possible.
“Please note that all our timescales are estimated based on previous experience and may change if new information becomes available while our engineers are fixing the issue.
“With underground power cuts, we may need to dig to repair the cable and this can sometime extend the length of time you are without power.”