Electrical explosion at Ryde substation cuts power to homes and businesses
May 2023Published 2 Oct 2026
What happened
On 24 May 2023, an electrical explosion was reported at the substation on Quarry Road in Ryde, United Kingdom. It is thought that two explosions occurred, and a local resident is reported to have filmed the second. Power was lost to around 2,000 homes and businesses. Live power cables fell across allotments on Quarry Road, and a cordon was erected. The cause, any injuries and the operator were not reported.
Contributing factors
Not reported. The source does not say what started the explosion or why the cables fell.
Lessons learned
- A substation explosion with fallen live cables needs an immediate cordon until the network operator confirms the area is safe.
- Outage figures from a single local report should be checked with the network operator before they are treated as final.
- Where the cause is not yet known, similar sites should not assume the event is isolated until the failed equipment has been identified.
Source
Published 2026-10-02. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.