Grid infrastructureUnited KingdomEIR-0189

Substation fire cuts power to over 600 homes in Godmanchester

Aug 2026Published 7 Sept 2026Responsible editor: Chief Editor

SignificantElectricalProvisional

Estimated damageEstimated by the register's adjusterHow? Know the real figure?

supply cut for about •• daysShown in the record →Full estimate

From the recordRoot cause Failed part

Where: electricity distribution substation in Cambridgeshire
What: Fire reported, more than 600 households lost supply
Cause: Not reported
Outcome: More than 600 households lost supply

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Companies named in the reporting of this entry (being named is not a finding of fault): UK Power Networks

What happened

More than 600 households lost power after an electrical substation caught fire in Bridge Place, Godmanchester, on 4 August 2026. Two fire crews from Huntingdon attended, used breathing apparatus and a hose reel to extinguish the blaze, and cleared smoke with a positive pressure ventilation fan. The road was closed and police put a cordon in place before handing the site to UK Power Networks at about 11.45pm. The operator said engineers responded to a high voltage network fault and restored supply to 641 customers in stages by rerouting power by 1.22am. The fire service said the cause is believed to be accidental. Some further customers had a brief interruption of a few minutes.

Contributing factors

The source states the cause of the fire is believed to be accidental. No further factors are reported.

Lessons learned

Rapid response and power rerouting can limit the duration of customer outages after substation faults.
Coordination between emergency services and network operators supports safe handover and restoration.
Maintaining clear access and cordons around substations aids efficient incident management.

More lessons on emergency response and public communication, from every incident on the register.

Not yet known

Cause of the fire
Duration of the outage
Any injuries
Nature of the emergency response

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Source

cambridge-news.co.uk

Published 2026-09-07. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.

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The record behind this entry

The record behind EIR-0189 holds the site, the operator, the root cause, what failed and the fire service response as fields you can filter, count and export, with its source and their verification status. The cause is not hidden: the contributing factors above give it as the sources report it. The record adds it as a field. Companies are named in the roles the sources give them. Being named is not a finding of fault.

Site: ••••••••••••
Operator: •••••••••
Failed part: •••••••
Fire service response: ••••••••••
Sources: ••••••••

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