ESB says cable fault caused major power cut which left parts of Athlone in the dark

An unplanned power outage left thousands of residents on the east side of Athlone in the dark last Wednesday evening (January 10).

The ESB acknowledged the "disruption to family and commercial life" caused by the incident, which it said was the result of a cable fault between Auburn Heights and Cartron Drive.

The power cut began at around 8.40pm on Wednesday and affected approximately 1,500 ESB customers in the wider Garrrycastle area, including Retreat Park, Auburn Heights, and Retreat Road.

Most of those affected saw their power return shortly before midnight, some three hours later. At around 90 premises, electricity remained out after midnight but was restored on Thursday morning.

Athlone Train Station was one of the locations which was still without power on Thursday morning, and Irish Rail said hand lamps had to be used by staff in order to ensure passengers could board early morning trains safely.

All train services operated as scheduled, and electricity at the station was fully restored at 10.20am, following work by ESB and Irish Rail engineers.

In response to queries from the Westmeath Independent, an ESB spokesperson said: "ESB Networks can confirm there was a cable fault in the Athlone area last Wednesday evening, January 7, which resulted in the loss of supply for approximately 1,500 customers at peak.

"Local ESB Networks crews mobilised immediately to investigate the cause of the fault and carry out the necessary repair work.

"This resulted in the vast majority of customers having their power restored on Wednesday evening, while all remaining customers had their supply restored on Thursday morning, January 8.

"We acknowledge the disruption to family and commercial life this caused, and thank customers for their patience," the ESB Networks spokesperson added.