Cable hit cuts power

The damage was not reported to Northern Ireland Electricity at the time and the cable failed at 5pm.

NIE emergency crews restored supply to most customers by 6.25pm, with 70 others back on supply shortly after 7pm. NIE’s Valerie Curran urged contractors working with underground cables to follow safety precautions.

“Fortunately no-one was injured in this incident,” she said. “Contractors should exercise extreme caution when working in the vicinity of underground cables, using safe working practices.

“Any incident of damage to the electricity network should be reported to NIE immediately to help prevent these disruptions. I am particularly concerned that electricity supplies in a busy city centre were disrupted during the Friday rush hour period.”