Blue light seen in sky before country hit by power outage
A FLASH of light was seen above parts of South Wales as the country was hit by widespread power outages.
Dashcam footage captured the intense blue flash above Newport at around 6pm on Sunday, shortly before a power cut hit thousands of homes across South Wales.
The phenomenon led some to speculate that it may have been a solar flare that in turn led to the power outage, but Western Power Distribution said the power fault was due to a National Grid issue.
As children were out trick or treating for Halloween, lights flickered at homes across the region.
Thousands were affected from Cardiff to Carmarthenshire, as well as parts of Bristol and the south-west of England, prompting an investigation by Western Power Distribution.
Many people reported the power cut at around 6.15pm on Sunday.
Many saw their lights flickering on and off, while others described how their streetlights had stayed off.
People living in Swansea, Barry, Cardiff, Newport, Port Talbot, Carmarthenshire and other areas of
Wales experienced the power outage.
Western Power Distribution is now investigating what caused the problem on Halloween night which caused a “large dip” across its network in South Wales.
A spokesman said: “There was an issue with the National Grid and they are investigating. It has affected homes across South Wales and the south-west of England.
“This fault has created a dip which is when there is a fault on the line or substation and all the volts have collapsed which can be caused by a fault or explosion.”
Meanwhile, the flash of light above Newport led to some witnesses suggesting it may have been fireworks and others the result of a solar flare.
Earlier this week space experts warned of a powerful sun storm, known as an X1-class solar flare.
These are intense types of solar flares, which are powerful bursts of radiation coming from the sun.
Occasionally they are intense enough to “trigger radio blackouts around the whole world”, according to the European Space Agency.
Nasa has said solar flares can cause intense flashes which they said may have been visible during Halloween.
We missed the flare but had the blackout.
Dawn Louise
My electric went off then came back on, I thought it was lightning.
Gareth Price
It’s the flux. Did nobody watch Doctor Who?!
Shauny Morris
Saw this when I was lying in bed. Tasha Anne Owen
It’s something to do with the Sun, a solar flare hitting the Earth. Debbie Catherine Mary Williams
I saw this. I thought it was fireworks going off. Jacky Ashman
We had just put Ghostbusters on when our lights started to flicker. Tracy Lock
My electric went off but only for a second or two, took longer for my TV to reboot.
Carol Hammett
Lightning or aliens.
Clare Louise
Our TV and lights flickered off and back on and it also turned on a radio which wasn’t on previously, now that’s spooky.
Ceri Durston
Cool. Wish I’d seen it. Steven Thomas
It shut all my electrics off in the car dash lights and stereo. Richy Cushing
UFO? Margaret Tillott
This was announced by NASA a few days ago about a solar flare that will likely hit Earth and may cause distruption. Adémòla Daniel Ónibiyò
It’s got to be something to do with Brexit.
Chris Lewis
I saw this yesterday, red coming down like a big ball.
Susan Staton
That ruins the ghost theory!
Alex Harley
Was in work we had a power cut for a few seconds.
Gill Champion