As parts of the UK and Ireland continue to deal with the aftermath of the remnants of Hurricane Ophelia, Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) is now preparing to respond to two weather fronts that are forecast to impact its central southern England network later this week.

From Thursday evening through to midday on Friday, SSEN's current weather model shows a period of high winds across much of its central southern England region, with wind gusts of up to 55mph forecast for coastal communities and up to 50mph forecast inland.

This weather front will be quickly followed by another period of high winds that are forecast from around 6am on Saturday morning, with sustained high winds expected throughout the day before tailing off later in the evening. Wind gusts are expected to strengthen for the second weather front, with forecasts suggesting gusts of up to 60mph for coastal communities and up to 55mph inland. These wind speeds, accompanied by heavy rain and risk of lightning, are expected to result in a number of faults across SSEN's network.

SSEN is ensuring that preparations and resources are in place to deal with any issues that may affect its network and is increasing its standby resources in anticipation of potential damage to its network, including moving engineers south from SSEN's north of Scotland network. SSEN is also asking its customers to be prepared for the possibility of disruption to supplies.

In advance of the potential storm, SSEN has been proactively contacting its Priority Service Register customers to offer extra assistance where required; it has also been liaising with local resilience partners to help coordinate efforts and ensure that everyone is prepared for any interruption to supplies should they occur.

SSEN's Director of Customer Operations, Craig Gilroy, said:

"The impact of Hurricane Ophelia is a timely and stark reminder of the impact extreme weather can have on many aspects of society, particularly at this time of year. Our advance weather monitoring systems have identified a period of low pressure which is forecast to potentially impact our network later this week and into this weekend. I would like to reassure our customers that we are well prepared and resourced to respond promptly to any damage to our network, where it is safe to do so."

"Plans are in place to deploy additional frontline teams, support staff, equipment and welfare facilities in the areas expected to be impacted to help support efforts to restore power to our customers as quickly and safely as possible. We have also been proactively contacting our vulnerable customers to pre-warn them of potential disruption to supplies as well as working closely with our local resilience partners."

"Due to the sustained period of high winds forecast for Saturday combined with the risk of lightning, we would ask any customers who experience a power cut to be patient as restoration times may be delayed if it is not safe for our engineers to conduct repairs. There is also an increased risk of tree related faults and we are mobilising additional crews of tree cutters to support efforts to respond to any damage on our network."

"If any of our customers do experience a power cut, or have any concerns about a vulnerable family member or community member, I would encourage them to please call us on the new national emergency number, 105."

SSEN is also encouraging its customers not to approach any damage to its equipment and instead, report the damage to by calling 105 and SSEN's engineers will investigate as soon as possible.

Customers are encouraged to be prepared in the event of possible disruption to power supplies, 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 website 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

In the event of an interruption in power supplies, SSEN's customer service team will make outbound calls to customers on our Priority Service Register (PSR) to offer extra assistance, where required. People can qualify for the 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 children under the age of five
  • Are over the age of 60

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