More than 1,000 Sunderland homes and business hit by power cut

Northern Powergrid has said more than 1,300 properties have been left without their supply tonight in the wake of the issues first reported at around 6.30pm.

The network said the issues across the SR2 and SR3 areas were reported at 6.30pm today, Thursday, March 12, with Sainbury’s in Silksworth and the nearby leisure centre among businesses to lose their power.

The Echo understands they were evacuated following the issue.

Northern Powergrid’s first online report said 1,310 properties were without power, with that falling to 300 as of 8pm, although Northern Powergrid has since called the Echo with some further details.

It said 1,700 properties were initially affected, but many will have seen their power quickly restored before a large number then lost their supply again.

The cause of the problem is a damaged pole, which it believes may have been pushed down by the wind.

Sunderland has been subject to a yellow weather warning, issued by the Met Office as it expected gales of 60mph to hit the city.

Northern Powergrid says its engineers are working to repair the issue, with generators drafted in to help some customers connect up to a supply again.

As of 8.40pm, it said 294 properties are still without power, with the estimated time of repairs to return power to their buildings put at around 1am.

A spokesperson said: “We are currently working hard to restore the power.”

It is issuing updates, which can be found by clicking here.

It says people can call 105 if they have specific questions.