Blackout at hundreds of Mid Ulster homes

The first, which was reported between Rock and Kildress just after 4pm, is understood to have been caused by faulty insulator, which a spokesperson for Norther Ireland Electricity (NIE) says is now being replaced.

A total of 82 customers were affected by the blackout, but across the district near Brockagh, another 149 homes lost power just after 5pm due to “equipment failure”.

A message on NIE’s website says: “The repair team is on its way”.

It is expected both faults should be repaired by around 8pm.

These latest cuts come just two days after power had to be restored to 500 homes across Tyrone.

That power outage began in the Cookstown area shortly before 3.30pm on January 1 and affected 527 customers.

A repair team dispatched by Northern Ireland Electricity repaired the fault at approximately 5.45pm.