Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) is issuing a weather warning for its customers across central southern England, as adverse weather continues to move across the south of the country this afternoon and through the weekend.

SSEN monitors the weather days in advance and forecasts are predicting a period of lightning and heavy - but short -bursts of rainfall, bringing with them the potential for power cuts and localised flooding.

Although SSEN's network is robust, it can be susceptible to lightning strikes and some customers may experience short duration power cuts. While most power outages caused by lightning are short in duration with power restored to customers within a few minutes, a small percentage of lightning strikes can cause sustained damage to the electricity network resulting in more prolonged power outages. Live information detailing power outages and restoration times for your area, can be accessed via the Power Track app.

Well-established resilience plans by SSEN are in place in anticipation of any loss of power and customers are being reassured that its teams are well resourced to respond to any disruption, with engineers ready to work to restore power as quickly and safely as possible.

With lightning and rain expected to move across the south of the country this afternoon and during the weekend, customers are being encouraged to be prepared by:

  • Saving the emergency power cut number - 105 - to your phone to report any loss of supply or damage to the electricity network
  • Downloading SSEN's Power Track app to give you details of power cuts and restoration times. You can also report power cuts and network damage through the Power Track app
  • Going to SSEN's website where there is a wealth of advice and information on how to deal with a power cut, or to chat live to one of SSEN's advisors via its Webchat service
  • Following SSEN on Facebook and Twitter for regular updates

SSEN is urging people not to approach any damage to its equipment and instead, report it to SSEN by calling 105 or via its Power Track App and engineers will investigate as soon as possible.

Customers are also eligible for free, additional support from SSEN's Priority Services Register (PSR) if they:

  • Are deaf or hard of hearing
  • Have a disability
  • Live with children under five
  • Are blind or partially sighted
  • Have a chronic illness
  • Use medical equipment/aids reliant on electricity
  • Are over 60

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