2000 homes still without power after Storm Jocelyn, but all expected to be reconnected by end of day says SSEN
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Around 2000 homes across the north of Scotland were still without power at lunchtime on Wednesday in the wake of Storm Jocelyn, Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) has revealed.
However the power company said it expects to have reconnected them all by the end of the day.
In an update shortly before midday, SSEN revealed that almost 4500 homes had already had their power restored following gale force winds overnight and into Wednesday.
At the time of writing, the company's online Powertrack map – which highlights active power cuts – was showing a number of outages dotted across the Highlands.
These ranged from Ardnamurchan, parts of Skye, and Laxford Bridge in the west, to Tongue in the north, some communities south of Inverness, and the Cairngorms further to the east.
- Related: Train services in Highlands remain suspended in wake of Storm Jocelyn
- Related: STORM JOCELYN: Complete shut down of Scotland's rail services as 70 mph winds batter Highlands
- Related: Road and rail lines in Highlands affected following Storm Isha as another weather warning issued
SSEN said its network had held up "very well" to the impact of Jocelyn, which hit less than 48 hours after Storm Isha had itself left tens of thousands of homes without power.
Commenting on the situation after Jocelyn's arrival, a spokesperson said: "As of 11.45am today (Wednesday), supplies have been successfully restored to nearly 4500 homes. We are working hard to reconnect the remaining 2000 customers as quickly and safely as possible. We expect them to have their supplies restored by the end of the day.
"Control room teams worked throughout the night to respond to faults and restore power remotely where possible. Crews of linespeople and tree cutters have been deployed to fully assess damage and begin repairing power lines."
SSEN said staff from its own teams and contract partners have been "reinforced" and "redeployed" to tackle the outages. Control room teams had also been bolstered, and in the customer contact centre, additional people were on hand to answer customers’ calls and queries.
Andy Smith, operations director at SSEN Distribution, said: “Jocelyn is the second severe storm in the north of Scotland has faced in three days, and I’d like to thank our customers for their patience while we respond to it. Our network has held up well overnight given the strength of winds we have seen across western and northern Scotland, and we are progressing well with the work to reconnect all of our customers.
"Today will not see the same level of impact to customers as we experienced on Monday during Storm Isha, but our teams across the north of Scotland, in our control room and in our customer contact centre are ready to support customers whose supplies are interrupted. We're working to get them back on as quickly and as safely as possible.
“I’d ask anyone who may need additional support to contact our specialist teams on the power cut helpline, 105. If our customers want to check for the latest updates on power cuts in their area, this information can be found on our Power Track app.”
Visit https://powertrack.ssen.co.uk/powertrack for the latest details on outages in your area.
