Dozens of households in Inverkeithing had Christmas Day ‘ruined’ after a power cut knocked out electricity supply for over 12 hours.
In all 72 homes were left without power following an underground cable fire on Preston Crescent.
Fire crews as well as emergency engineers from Scottish Power worked throughout the day and into night in a bid to restore power.
The alarm was raised after a jogger discovered smoke rising from a manhole cover at around 10.30am.
Jogger raised the alarm after smoke seen coming from manhole
One fire appliance was sent while several Scottish Power vehicles were seen arriving a short time later.
Many residents were unable to cook their Christmas dinners while others were forced to vacate their homes and stay elsewhere.
Nikki Smith told The Courier she was preparing the Christmas meal for 10 of her family when the power was lost.
She said: “Initially I thought one of the kids had tripped a fuse or something but then neighbours also reported losing power.
“With the likelihood of no power through the day we eventually had to cook our dinner at a relative’s house.”
Meanwhile, Juliette Russell, was preparing to a meal for nine guests when her power was cut.
Dozens of homes left without electricity for over 12 hours
“I couldn’t believe it, I’d only put my turkey in the oven 45 minutes earlier,” she said.
“It certainly made for an unusual Christmas day, which was effectively ruined and one I wouldn’t want to repeat.
“Praise must go to the engineers though, they worked for hours in appalling weather to finally get power restored.”
Fellow Preston Crescent resident, Patrick Theiner, also spent Christmas Day without power.
He said: “I was lucky in as much as there were only two of us at home but others with big families or guests did suffer.
“We lit about 50 candles to get a little heat in the house.”
“It’s a Christmas Day I wouldn’t want to experience again but one we’ll be talking about for years to come.”
As news of the power cut spread, some locals offered to take in residents affected, especially older folk needing a meal or a warm place to stay.
It had been though that power would be out until the early hours of Boxing Day but supply was eventually restored just after 11pm.
A spokesperson for SP Energy Networks apologised for the fault that affected 72 of its customers which they said had been cased by local flooding.
“Our engineers attended immediately and worked to restore supplies as quickly as possible.
Scottish Power engineers work for over 12 hours to restore supply
“However, their efforts were hampered by the flooding, which meant the repair works took longer than anticipated, with assistance from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to tackle the flood water.
“Our team visited all affected properties to provide information and support, as well as offer hot food, meals and hotel accommodation, with most opting to stay with family instead.
“We know this was far from ideal for our customers, and thank them for their patience, cooperation and Christmas spirit while our colleagues working over the holiday did everything they could to restore supplies safely and quickly.”
