Power cuts in London

A power cut hit part of central London yesterday as faults and hot weather forced the electricity supplier to shut down service to thousands of customers.

EDF Energy said more than 3,000 customers in the Soho area of central London did not have electricity for four hours yesterday as it enforced power cuts on a rotating basis.

The power cut forced the closure of Oxford Circus underground railway station, one of the capital's busiest, but trains on the subway system were otherwise running normally, the capital's transport agency, Transport for London, said.

The cuts were caused by four faults in the last few days, exacerbated by high demand due to a heatwave which has led many businesses to turn up the air conditioning.

"Prudent use of power by those in the affected area, for example turning off air conditioning wherever possible, will help this situation," EDF Energy said in a statement.

Some 760 customers were without power and two further groups of 1,200 and 1,300 customers were to lose power in rota later yesterday, it said.

The company said it would work around the clock to solve the problems. It hoped power would return to normal overnight but said there could be problems again today.

EDF Energy, formerly London Electricity before being bought by French power firm EDF, has around five million customers mostly in London and southeast England.