Hundreds of customers left without power in Bedfordshire village after an underground cable fault Bedford News

Hundreds of customers in Cotton End, near Bedford, were left without power on Friday May 21 after an underground cable crashed.

According to UK Power Networks, 302 customers were cut off in and around Cotton End on Friday at 7:52 a.m. after an underground cable crashed.

A spokesperson said: “UK engineers at Power Networks worked quickly and safely to restore power in stages, with all 91 end customers returning by 10:37 am We apologize for any inconvenience caused.”

A resident says this is not the first time this has happened and asks the management company to fix the problem.

But UK spokesperson Power Networks said the last reported incident was independent electrical isolation in December 2020, so there did not appear to be any ongoing issues.

And he added that UK Power Networks invests hundreds of millions of pounds every year to upgrade their networks.

Penelope Sowter told Bedford Today the issues first arose in 2013.

She said: “Due to the high winds, I was hoping it was just a pylon that had been damaged and that the problem would be fixed soon.

“But about two hours later, the large mobile diesel generator set belonging to UK Power Networks showed up in front of my house.

“I spoke to one of the officers to see if the problem was just a pylon – but no – the high winds were just a coincidence – and again, within five months or so this time. , there was another fault due to the old underground energy cables.

“As a result, everyone in Bunkers Drive has to put up with a big, noisy and polluting diesel generator for days on end as workers find the location and repair the last underground fault.”

“The constant background noise is very intrusive and prevents residents whose rooms face the road from sleeping. If the wind blows in the wrong direction, houses can be filled with diesel fuel.”

He was told the generator would be in place “at least throughout the weekend”.

She added: “At first the power outages were about once every two years, then about once a year and now only six months apart.

“Everyone pays their electricity bill and yet the management in charge is doing nothing to solve this increasingly frequent problem.

“It’s also bad for the environment because bad old wiring means more diesel generators are needed which emit CO2 and other pollutants.

“It must also be expensive to keep looking for recurring underground faults and digging dirt to reach the cable.”

The UK Power Networks spokesperson said: “UK Power Networks invests over £ 600 million in modernizing its power grids each year.

“The company’s operational teams provide safe and reliable power supplies, which enable the growing adoption of electric vehicles and electric heating towards a low-carbon future.”