Teams from Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) are preparing to respond to lightning and heavy rain which has been forecast for central southern England from 07:00 until midnight tomorrow, Thursday 6 July.
The current SSEN weather model shows a weather front moving in from the south coast during the morning that will result in a combination of sporadic lightning storms and heavy rain with the possibility of flooding, surface water and some interruptions to power supplies.
The high temperatures and humidity across the south will result in storm conditions continuing throughout the day across central southern England and into the evening and SSEN is asking customers to be prepared for potential disruption to supplies and planned jobs.
SSEN is ensuring that preparations and resources are in place to deal with any issues that may affect its network.
SSEN's Director of Customer Operations, Craig Gilroy, said: "Lightning by its very nature is unpredictable and we are doing everything we can to have teams in place in the event of any damage to the network. If you do come across any damage to our equipment, please do not approach it as it may still be live, instead give us a call on 105 and we'll get one of our engineers out to investigate as soon as possible."
"Lightning also brings with it the added danger that if a storm is in the area, our engineers will not be able to climb poles or conduct repairs until it is safe for them to do it. So if our customers do experience a fault, we hope they can remain patient, safe in the knowledge we are doing everything we can to restore their supplies."
"We are well prepared with additional frontline and support staff on standby to handle any damage to our network and to get power restored to our customers as quickly and safely as possible. We will also have extra telephony staff available to ensure that any customers calling in about a power cut or to report damage to our equipment will have their call answered as quickly 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 a young baby or receive a state pension.
- To find out more about the PSR, click here or call 0800 294 3259.