Power begins to return after major Cork city blackout

The lights have gone out in parts of Cork city this evening.

Latest: The ESB has said the number of customers affected by a major power outage in Cork city centre has reduced to just over 500 customers.

Some bars affected by the outage remained open during the blackout but were only accepting cash, with queues forming at nearby ATMs. 

Late bar Reardan's reassured customers that they would still be welcomed, saying "the show must go on."

Cork Opera House announced that their power was restored shortly after 9pm, and the Kojaque concert was going ahead later than scheduled.

ESB has said the majority of customers should have their power restored by 9.30pm, although there may be some smaller "pockets" of customers affected for longer as crews continue to work on site. 

Second Officer at Cork City Fire Brigade, Victor Shine, has said that up to around 9pm on Friday they had no reports of serious incidents linked to the power outage.

At that point they were expecting the outage to last as late as 10.30pm in some areas. Mr Shine urged people to remember what appliances they had turned on, warning that people may have left premises when electrical equipment comes back on later on Friday evening as power is restored.

Earlier

A power outage in Cork city has left thousands of people in darkness, with the blackout hitting the commercial centre of Oliver Plunkett St, Patrick's St, one-half of Washington Street and surrounding areas.

The ESB is reporting an equipment failure at its Liberty Street substation has left 5,595 customers without power, but emergency crews are working to have the issue resolved by 9.30pm, having initially advised that power would be restored at 8.30pm.

The lights have gone out in the centre of Cork city

The ESB has also issued a notice of a power outage on Centre Park Rd that has left a further 157 customers without power, which they hope to have resolved by 10.45pm.  

IMPORTANT MESSAGE: Like much of Cork city centre at the moment, we have a electricity power outage. The ESB have put a notice up saying they hope to have the power back by 8.30pm. If this is the case, doors will open shortly after for Kojaque's show and a full show will go ahead.

— Cork Opera House (@CorkOperaHouse) October 14, 2022

Cork Opera House, where Kojaque was due to take to the stage, has moved back tonight's concert in the hopes that the power outage will soon be fixed.

One tourist who was dining on Maylor Street said the lights suddenly went out in their restaurant. 

"We paid up and now we are walking around the city, which is mostly in darkness. Hopefully, it gets resolved quickly," the tourist said. 

The ESB has apologised to customers, saying: "We are currently working to repair a fault affecting your premises and will restore power as quickly as possible."