Scottish Power apologised for the disruption
Emergency services on Old Chester Road in Tranmere last night(Image: Liverpool Echo)
The cause of a power cut which left homes without electricity last night has been confirmed. Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service (MFRS) was called to Summerford Close in Tranmere shortly after 5pm on Tuesday, December 30, following reports homes in the area had lost power.
ScottishPower engineers from SP Energy Networks were also on the Tranmere street where a 30-metre safety cordon was put in place and managed by Merseyside Police. Postcodes affected by the outage included CH42 3TA, CH42 3TB, CH42 3TL, CH42 3UX, CH42 3YH, CH42 3YJ, CH42 3YL, CH42 3YQ, CH42 5ND, CH42 5NH, CH42 5NJ and CH43 1AA.
Scottish Power said on its website that there was “an unexpected power cut affecting the CH42 postcode area of Birkenhead.” It added: “In most cases, our engineers can restore power by replacing a fuse at the local substation.
“However, if the fault is more complex, repairs may take longer. Should this happen, we will keep customers updated.
“We aim to restore power by 9.15pm on December 30, 2025. We apologise for the inconvenience and thank customers for their patience.”
Power in the affected postcodes has now been restored. The fire service said its crews found a “blown electric grid” and put a cordon around it.
The ECHO asked SP Energy Networks for an explanation on what caused the fault. In response, a spokesperson said: “An underground cable fault caused disruption to supply to a small number of customers.
“Our engineers worked to repair the fault and restore power safely and as quickly as possible. We apologise for the inconvenience and thank customers for their patience.”
Traffic alert service Inrix reported that Old Chester Road was closed in both directions due to the incident, between Union Street and Southwick Road.
Traffic was said to be coping well despite the closure.
All roads in the area have now re-opened.
For the latest news and breaking news visit liverpoolecho.co.uk/news
Get all the big headlines, pictures, analysis, opinion and video on the stories that matter to you by signing up to our daily and breaking newsletter.
Sign up to our breaking news newsletter here.
Follow us on Twitter @LivECHONews – the official Liverpool ECHO Twitter account – real news in real time.
We’re also on Facebook/theliverpoolecho – your must-see news, features, videos and pictures throughout the day from the Liverpool ECHO.