Power network operator SSEN stays on red alert as Storm Arwen damage estimated to be three times greater than 'Beast from the East' with thousands still without electricity
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) remains at red alert status for its north of Scotland electricity network as its teams continue to respond to widespread and extensive damage to its network caused by Storm Arwen.
Throughout the course of today, SSEN has made progress in restoring power to over 15,000 customers.
Since the start of Storm Arwen at around lunchtime on Friday, power has been restored to 88,000 customers in total, with 32,000 customers currently off supply.
Evanton in Easter Ross is amongst the places affected, according to SSEN.
Faults affecting a number of locations – amongst them Evanton – "are currently being worked on and SSEN’s teams will continue to work into the evening to carry out repairs, where it is safe to do so".
It hopes to restore customers there overnight or early tomorrow, "subject to no new damage being identified or unforeseen difficulties carrying out repairs".
Aberdeenshire, Moray, Angus and Perthshire have all been hit.
A number of locations have been warned not to expect power to be restored before tomorrow at the earliest.
A further breakdown of expected restoration times will be provided on Monday.
SSEN says it continues to work closely with local and national resilience partners to help coordinate the community response. As part of this, support is being prioritised for the most vulnerable Priority Services Register customers, such as those dependent on medical equipment, where SSEN is making alternative arrangements where possible.
This includes liaising with local resilience partners to share details of Priority Services Customers who will remain off supply overnight to coordinate support where required. Rest Centres have also been established at a number of places.
Mark Rough, director of customer operations at SSEN, said: “Storm Arwen has resulted in some of the most significant and challenging conditions experienced the North of Scotland in decades, resulting in catastrophic damage to several overhead circuits with multiple instances of damage which need to be repaired before power can be restored.
"The damage caused by Storm Arwen is at least three times greater than we experienced from the Beast from the East storm in 2018, demonstrating the scale of challenge our teams have faced.
“We continue to make good progress carrying our repairs and restoring power and would once again like to thank our customers for their continued patience and understanding in what continues to be very challenging circumstances. Our teams will continue to work on faults that have already been resourced into the evening.
"The extent of damage means the repair work needed is complex and often requires lengthy clearance of access just to reach the problem areas, with substantial tree cutting and re-erection of overhead network infrastructure. As a result, unfortunately, significant numbers of customers will remain off supply overnight.
“We fully appreciate the challenging situation our customers are facing with another night without power and we would like to apologise again to everyone who has been impacted by Storm Arwen.
“We continue to work closely with our local resilience partners to prioritise support for our most vulnerable customers. We would encourage any customer with a vulnerability who has concerns about remaining off supply, or if you have concerns about a vulnerable relative or neighbour, please give our teams a call on 105.”
With Customer Contact Centre lines remaining extremely busy, SSEN continues to encourage customers impacted to only phone if it is an emergency or if they need extra help, to keep the line clear for vulnerable customers who may need extra support.
The next update will be provided tomorrow morning.
Over 500 field staff are concentrated in the areas which continue to be affected, with an additional 150 support staff. Helicopters continue to be flown to monitor overhead circuits to assess the extent of damage caused, with extensive mobile generation being deployed to assist with power restoration.
SSEN’s Customer Contact Centre continue to proactively contact customers on its Priority Services Register (PSR) to keep them updated and to offer extra support where possible, with proactive contact made to over 120,000 PSR customers in advance of the storm.
SSEN’s Priority Services Register (PSR) provides extra help and support during a power cut. Customers are eligible for SSEN's free priority services if they:
Are deaf or hard of hearing
Have a disability
Live with children under five
Are blind or partially sighted
Have a chronic illness
Use medical equipment/aids reliant on electricity
Are over 60
Temporarily need extra support
To find out more about the PSR, call 0800 294 3259.
SSEN is urging people to not approach any damage to its equipment and instead, report it to SSEN by calling 105 or via its Power Track App and engineers will investigate as soon as possible.
Customers are also being encouraged to be prepared for the possibility of disruption to supplies by:
Saving the emergency power cut number – 105 – to your phone to use if your power goes off, or if you see any damage to the electricity network
Downloading SSEN’s Power Track app to give you details of power cuts and restoration times. You can also report power cuts and network damage through the Power Track app
Going to SSEN’s website where there is a wealth of advice and information on how to prepare for a possible loss of power
