Following the impact of the remnants of Hurricane Ophelia, which caused widespread devastation in parts of the UK and Ireland, SSEN has this morning returned to business as usual for its north of Scotland distribution network.
Whilst the worst of the weather experienced across the UK and Ireland did not impact SSEN's network region, wind gusts of 69 mph were recorded in Argyll as well as numerous direct lightning strikes on SSEN's overhead network. Throughout the course of the weather event, there were 30 faults on SSEN's high voltage network impacting a total of 6,246 customers, with the main areas affected being Argyll and the Inner Hebrides.
In extremely challenging conditions, SSEN's engineers responded promptly to the damage caused by the storm, with the average restoration for customers just 42 minutes and no customers were left without power for longer than six hours.
Commenting, Dale Cargill, Director of Operations, said:
"Our network stood up exceptionally well to the extreme weather experienced over the last 24 hours and I would like to thank all our customers who experienced a power cut for their patience as we battled against the elements to restore their power. I would also like to place on the record my thanks to the teams of engineers and support staff for their efforts to get the lights back on for our customers, safely and promptly."
"Whilst we have now returned to business as usual following yesterday's weather events, we will continue to keep a close eye on the weather and would like to reassure our customers we are well prepared to respond to whatever the Scottish winter has in store for us."