Nearly 3,000 homes and businesses in Goodmayes lost electricity in a power cut yesterday evening.
Supplier UK Power Networks said 2,294 customers were left without power when there was a fault with a high voltage underground cable around 5.45pm.
In most areas, power was restored within 20 minutes but some people waited until 7.20pm for engineers to fix the problem.
Streets were left in darkness and heating cut out while outside temperatures hovered a few degrees above freezing.
A spokesman said: “We appreciate how frustrating it is to be without electricity, especially at this time of year, and apologise for the inconvenience caused.”
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