Power knocked out at Durham Crematorium after contractors cut through power cable

Power was knocked out at a crematorium for three hours after contractors cut through a cable.

Durham Crematorium, in South Road, suffered the outage on Friday, January 17, when workers on a nearby housing development served the supply cable.

No funeral services had to be cancelled or rearranged. Power was restored thanks to a back-up generator delivered by crematorium’s utility company.

Details of the ‘electricity disruption’ were revealed in a report to Durham County Council’s Central Durham Crematorium Joint Committee.

Graham Harrison, Durham County Council’s bereavement services manager, said: “The crematorium was without electricity for around three hours, after which time the power was restored through the use of a generator.

“Thankfully, all services were able to go ahead as planned.”

A report for the committee suggested exploring electricity ‘self generation’ – an idea previously considered by crematorium bosses – or buying a back-up generator to avoid possible future disruption.