Statement Two – 13.30 hrs.

Following yesterday evening’s power failure at 6:20pm, affecting large parts of South London and parts of Kent, there was considerable disruption most obviously to underground and over-ground rail services.

National Grid Transco reiterates its apology to everyone affected by the disruption which was caused by a fault in the electricity transmission system. We are in touch with all the relevant authorities and a thorough investigation is underway.

An initial account of last night’s events and the action taken is set out below:

At 6.10pm yesterday evening an alarm indicated a fault on a transformer at our Hurst substation in Kent.

We switched the transformer out of service at 6.20pm, and power was still able to flow into London through other circuits.

Energis Ireland provides Bank of Ireland and UTV Internet with a range of telecoms services using fibre networks leased from firms such as Bord Gais. Its operation in Northern Ireland provides telecoms services to former shareholder Viridian.

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The World Wide Web is being used to mobilise disaffected small shareholders in telecoms group Energis

The internet has united an army of angry private investors to campaign against the telecoms provider Energis and to raise the money to pay for possible legal action.

Energis, once valued at nearly £14bn, fell spectacularly from grace in July 2002 when Ernst & Young were appointed administrators. It was effectively taken over by the banks and bondholders in a debt-for-equity swap that left shareholders with nothing. The shares, which had traded at up to 800p, were worthless.

It has since recovered, winning deals worth some £lbn under chief executive John Pluthero (but £200m in debt in its full year results in July). The shareholders case is that the tumaround makes a mockery of the administration and that they deserve compensation. "The shares were affordable and we thought the problems with the banks would be sorted out-it was nowhere near as bad as Marconi-and the share price would recover," says Mary Bekes, who bought 500,000 shares with her husband George. "We were completely amazed when the company ceased to be and even more amazed that it continued to trade ever more successfully without the encumbrance of its shareholders."