About 3,000 homes were left without electricity after "mindless" vandals broke into nine 11,000-volt sub-stations and turned off the supply. Electricity company bosses said those behind the break-ins in Weymouth, Dorset, had put their lives at risk.
The sub-stations were targeted over a six-hour period on Thursday night but no resident was without power for more than an hour, Southern Electric said.
"Mindless vandals went on a spree of destruction," a spokeswoman said.
Break-ins 'must stop'
"It's a miracle that one of them was not hurt or killed.
"Our message is that this has to stop before someone is hurt or killed."
None of the fenced-off sub-stations were damaged in the incidents between 2015 GMT and 0230 GMT.
The spokeswoman declined to speculate on whether the culprits had "inside" information on how to break-in and disable the supply.
Power was lost in the Chickerell and west Weymouth areas.
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