Lights Out in Eastbourne: McDonald’s and Wetherspoons Close as Engineers Investigate

UK Power Networks Engineers on Site A widespread power cut hit Eastbourne’s town centre this evening (Saturday, June 22), leaving major high street chains including Wetherspoons, McDonald’s, and KFC in darkness, along with several other nearby retailers. The outage affected businesses and properties in the Terminus Road area, one of the busiest parts of the […]

UK Power Networks Engineers on Site

A widespread power cut hit Eastbourne’s town centre this evening (Saturday, June 22), leaving major high street chains including Wetherspoons, McDonald’s, and KFC in darkness, along with several other nearby retailers.

The outage affected businesses and properties in the Terminus Road area, one of the busiest parts of the town. It has also knocked out traffic lights n the town area.

Engineers on Site, Overnight Repairs Possible

UK Power Networks confirmed that engineers arrived shortly after 8pm and are currently inspecting their substation and wider network in the area. In a statement sent at 8:27pm, a spokesperson said:

“As any issues that currently exist on our network have affected our equipment at the substation, engineers will start their testing there. They will then check our network equipment throughout the area to try and identify any problems, before trying to restore power.”

The estimated timeframe for restoring power remains between 1:00am and 2:00am, but the company has warned that a full cable repair may be required if a fault is confirmed. This could involve ground excavation, traffic management, and specialist teams.

Ongoing Interruptions Likely

At 8:55pm, UK Power Networks issued a further update indicating that repeated outages may continue due to a suspected underlying issue.

“We believe there may be a deeper issue causing the recent interruptions,” said Stuart from UK Power Networks.
“Sometimes, the heat from a developing fault can cause a damaged cable to temporarily reseal itself, which makes it difficult to locate. This can result in the power going on and off multiple times before we can fix it.”

Customers are advised to prepare for possible ongoing outages overnight. UK Power Networks will continue to share updates as the situation develops.