Homes and businesses hit in Lisburn power cut

In the last two months alone there have been 13 serious interruptions to power supplies in Northern Ireland caused by careless contractors.

In the latest incident reported by NIE, homes and businesses in Lisburn were left without power for over two hours last Wednesday afternoon following damage caused to an underground electricity cable by contractors.

Electricity supplies were lost in the Benson Street, Chapel Hill and Market Street areas of the city when a third party contractor working in the area hit and damaged a high voltage underground cable at 1.35pm. However, NIE engineers were able to restore power shortly after 3pm.

Brenda Murphy, NIE Customer Relations Manager for the area, said the number of damages to the electricity network is increasing. “Working in the vicinity of any electricity equipment can involve considerable danger and greatest care should be taken," she said.

“In the last two months there have been 13 incidences of contractor damage to the underground electricity network across Northern Ireland and with good working practices the number of faults of this sort could be radically reduced."

NIE have again advised any contractors or private developers to contact them on 08457 643 643 for marked up drawings of the underground electricity network before starting future work.

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