Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) has safely reconnected all 18,000 customers who lost power following Storm Deirdre .
A combination of gale-force winds and heavy snow on Saturday and into Sunday resulted in significant damage to parts of SSEN's overhead line network in Aberdeenshire, Perthshire and Moray, through damage from fallen trees and instances of 'line icing', where ice and snow accumulated around power lines, causing them to break under the additional weight.
The worst affected area was near Dalrulzion near Glenshee in Perthshire where the final homes were reconnected late on Monday evening. The disruption to the network in this area was extensive with over 100 points of networks damage within a 10 mile radius.
At one point, SSEN had a 120-strong operational team working in the local area and three catering facilities providing free hot food and drinks to local residents.
Dale Cargill, Director of Customer Operations, said:
"I would like to thank all of our customers who experienced a power cut for their patience as we battled against the elements to restore their power. I hope that despirt this obvious disruption, they were kept up-to-date and well cared for by our customer service and community teams."
"I would also like to thank our teams and contract partners for working so hard to get the lights back on for our customers in extremely challenging conditions. This includes the team working the Perthshire Glens where the extent of localised network damage was highly unusual."
SSEN prepared for the arrival of Storm Deirdre and enacted its well-established resilience plans. Preparations included increasing standby resources and moving people and equipment to areas in anticipation of potential damage. The network operator also proactively contacted over 6,000 customers signed up to its Priority Service Register to warn of potential interruptions and offer extra help and support.