Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) Distribution has restored power to over 25,000 homes and businesses that lost supplies during yesterday’s severe weather.
The network stood up well to several hours of sustained gale-force winds, and SSEN’s operational teams acted quickly and safely to fix faults on the network and carry out repairs where necessary.
Around 18,000 customers on the Western Isles and Skye lost power due to a fault on the SSEN Transmission network early on Thursday morning. Through the quick deployment of on-island generation stations, most customers only experienced a short interruption, and a permanent repair to the transmission network is expected to be completed today.
Recorded wind speeds were in line with the forecast, with gusts of up to 80mph recorded in the Northern and Western Isles, and 70mph in the north of mainland Scotland.
SSEN Distribution’s Operations Director for the North of Scotland Andy Smith, said:
“Yesterday was a particularly busy day, and I’d like to thank our customers for their patience while we responded to the impacts of this severe weather on our network. Our robust preparations and the resources we deployed have got people reconnected as quickly and as safely as possible.”
SSEN’s Customer Contact Centre brought in extra staff to handle an anticipated increase in calls from customers, and our agents handled more than 1,400 calls from customers in the north of Scotland throughout the day. There have also been more than 20,000 visits to SSEN’s Power Track website.
With more high winds forecast for the coming days, SSEN is reminding customers that if they come across any damaged equipment, not to touch it and instead report it to us directly by calling 105, or via our Power Track website, and engineers will investigate as soon as possible.
You can keep up to date with our latest news at www.ssen.co.uk/storm