Teams from Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) continue to make good progress in restoring power to customers affected by the adverse weather in central southern England.

Heavy snow and winds of up to 70mph have caused damage to SSEN's overhead network, leading to disruption to customer supplies. The main areas affected are Oxfordshire, Wiltshire and parts of Berkshire with access issues, including a number of road closures, hampering efforts to carry out repairs.

From 6am this morning, engineers have restored power to around 36,000 customers. As of 4pm, around 9,800 customers are still off supply.

SSEN engineers will continue to work throughout the remainder of today and into the evening to locate faults and carry out repairs.

Continuing issues with access to make repairs mean that it is possible that some customers remain without power overnight in the Oxfordshire region. In these situations, proactive contact will be made with customers and mobile generation and welfare facilities deployed, where possible. Over 137,000 customers on our Priority Service Register have already been proactively contacted to assess needs and offer extra assistance, where required.

Craig Gilroy, Director of Customer Operations for SSEN, said:

"In extremely challenging conditions our engineers have made good progress in restoring power to customers affected by the heavy snow and high winds experienced across central southern England."

"I would like to reassure our customers we are doing all we can to get them back on supply as soon as possible and would like to thank our customers for their continued patience while our teams battle against the elements to get their lights back on."

"We're confident that the worst of the weather has now passed and I'd like to assure our customers that we will continue to work through the evening to restore supplies as quickly and safely as possible. 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 national power cut emergency number, 105."

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 deal with a power cut
  • 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.