London pavement explosions 'on the increase'

A huge pavement fire in Kingsway, Holborn, in April this year is still under investigation after thousands of homes and West End businesses were left without power.

Labour’s London Assembly Environment Spokesperson Murad Qureshi AM said: “Thankfully pavement explosions are relatively rare but when they do occur the consequences can be very serious.

“With 40 explosions last year alone and a deeply disruptive incident on Kingsway in April it’s time UK Power Networks did everything possible to crack down on this potentially life threatening problem.

“This is a company which made almost two hundred million pounds profit last year. It shouldn’t be too much to ask for them to invest a little of that in overhauling their aging electricity supply network and stepping up inspections.”

A spokesman for the UK Power Networks, the operator responsible for maintaining the underground electrical cables across London, said public safety remained its "number one priority".

Responding to claims that more work was needed to tackle the problem, he said: "This is a global issue, and UK Power Networks is recognised as one of the industry leaders in tackling it.

"We have over 100,000 cable pits and junction boxes and 36,000km of cable across the capital, delivering the most reliable power supply in the UK. Although such incidents are extremely rare we do everything in our power to mitigate the risk, as public safety is always our number one priority."

He continued: "We have worked tirelessly since taking on the responsibility of London’s electricity network five years ago to maintain, replace and invest in our equipment, this includes carrying out over 40,000 underground inspections.

"Moving forward we are looking to spend around £1.5 billion over the next seven years to ensure that London’s electricity network continues to be the UK’s most reliable."