SSEN Distribution is moving to Weather Warning status in anticipation of gale force winds forecast to move across its north of Scotland operating region from the early hours of Thursday morning.

Winds in excess of 80mph are expected in the Western Isles, North West Highland and the central Highlands. As the low pressure system moves across the north of Scotland throughout the morning and into the afternoon, winds will increase across Tayside, Angus and Aberdeenshire, with gusts expected around 65mph; there may also be some isolated pockets of 70mph gusts in places.

In preparation for this unsettled weather, we have enacted our well-established resilience plans, and we are both increasing and moving additional resources to key locations in anticipation of any potential damage.  We are also in contact with local resilience partners to aid preparations.

We will continue to monitor weather forecasts and provide updates if the situation changes.

If you see any damaged equipment, please keep a safe distance and report it to us by calling 105 or via our Power Track App, and engineers will investigate as soon as possible.

Customers are being encouraged to be prepared for the possibility of disruption to supplies by:

  • Saving the emergency power cut number – 105 – to their phone to report power cuts or damage to the electricity network
  • Downloading our Power Track app which provides details of power cuts and restoration times. Customers can also report power cuts and network damage through the Power Track app
  • Going to our 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 our advisors via the Webchat service
  • Following SSEN on Facebook and Twitter for regular updates

Priority Services Register

Customers are eligible for the Priority Services Register 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
  • Are categorised at ‘high risk’ or ‘extremely high risk’ of severe illness from coronavirus

For more information on our Priority Services Register, click here or call 0800 294 3259.

We will continue to monitor the weather as forecasts change and update our plans accordingly.

About this author

Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks

Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks

We are the electricity Distribution Network Operator (DNO) responsible for delivering power to over 3.8 million homes and businesses across central southern England and the north of Scotland. We serve some of the most diverse and unique geographies across the UK, and keep customers and communities connected whilst developing the flexible electricity network vital to achieving net zero.