Following continued monitoring of Storm Barbara, our weather models anticipate a period of sustained high winds across the Western Isles, North West Highland, Orkney and Shetland, with wind gusts of over 90 mph from the afternoon of Friday 23 December and in to Saturday 24 December. All other parts of our north network area will see winds gusts of up to 70mph.

Due to the wind speeds forecast it is anticipated there will be disruption to power supplies. In response, we have increased the levels of frontline and support staff and are moving engineers, equipment and welfare facilities to strategic areas, including the islands.

  • 600 frontline and support staff are on hand across the Christmas period, some five times the normal number who would be available
  • Around 100 mobile generation units strategically positioned to help restore power in the event of faults to the network
  • 20 welfare vans available and ready to be deployed to affected areas, should they be required
  • Outbound calls being made to over 1,400 customers on our Priority Service Register to assess needs and offer extra assistance, where required
  • Given disruption to travel services, helicopters and fixed-wing planes are on standby to assist with the movement of engineers and equipment.

We are continuing to track weather reports for the weekend, with a further weather front expected to bring more high winds to North-west Highland, Orkney and Shetland.

Dale Cargill, Director of Customer Operations for SSEN, said:

"We have been tracking Storm Barbara for a number of days and our well established contingency plans are in place. With over 600 frontline and support staff on hand across the festive period we are well prepared to respond quickly to disruption to supplies, where it is safe to do so. We are acutely aware of the time of year and the increasing concern this brings and would like to reassure our customers we will be doing all we can to keep disruption to a minimum.

"Any customers who do suffer a loss of power can contact us on the new national power cut helpline '105' where they can also advise if they require extra support from our priority service."

People can qualify for the Priority Service Register (PSR) if they:

  • Are dependent on electricity for home medical care
  • Have a chronic illness or short term medical condition
  • Are disabled
  • Have special communication needs
  • Have a young baby or receive a state pension.

To find out more about the PSR, click here or call 0800 294 3259.

Our network is resilient in these weather conditions but in anticipation of possible disruption to power supplies, we would encourage our customers to be prepared. This can done by:

Saving the new 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.
  • Going to SSEN's Ready For Winter pages where there is a wealth of advice and information on how to prepare for a possible loss of power.
  • Following SSEN on Facebook and Twitter for regular updates

Members of the public should not approach fallen or damaged power lines, which may still be live.