We’re moving to Weather Warning status in central southern England ahead of severe weather being brought by Storm Austen, which is forecast for Friday 23 October.
We’re moving to Weather Warning status in central southern England ahead of severe weather being brought by Storm Austen, which is forecast for Friday 23 October.
The Met Office has issued its own weather warning for this Friday.
Our current weather model shows rain and high winds moving in across Dorset, Wiltshire and the Jurassic coast from the early hours of Friday morning, then continuing to track across the southern regions and the Isle of Wight until Friday evening.
During this time, wind gusts are forecast to reach between 50 – 60mph across the Isle of Wight and much of Dorset, Wiltshire and Hampshire. In response, we are now activating our well-rehearsed contingency plans; bringing in additional teams to deal with any damage to the network and subsequent faults, which may interrupt customers’ power supplies.
Areas further inland, including Oxfordshire and Berkshire will also be affected, with wind gusts are expected to be slightly lower at 45 – 50mph and peaking through Friday afternoon.
We will continue to monitor Storm Austen closely as it develops, and we will issue further updates depending on the forecast.
📞 How you can prepare, and how we’ll help you
If you see any damage to our equipment, please stay back, don’t touch it, and instead report it to us directly by calling 105, or via our Power Track website. Our engineers will investigate this as soon as possible.
We’d also encourage you to prepare for the possibility of disruption to supplies by:
- Saving our emergency power cut number - '105' - to your phone to report any loss of supply or damage to the electricity network.
- Visiting our Power Track Website for details of power cuts and restoration times. You can also report power cuts and network damage through Power Track.
- Visiting the "Preparing for a power cut" section on our website, where there’s a wealth of advice and information, or to chat live to one of our advisors via the Webchat service.
Customers are also eligible for our 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.
How to get prepared
In preparation for any potential power cuts, we are encouraging our customers to save the emergency power cut number 105 and to follow us on Facebook (ssencommunity) for regular updates.
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Get extra support during a power cut
Priority Services
We all rely on electricity day to day for various things, but for some, a power cut can be worrying or difficult. That’s why we offer extra help and support during a power cut. Registering for our Priority Services helps us to help you when you need it most. All our priority services are free. -
View our tips and advice to help you during a power cut
Preparing for a power cut
With bad weather on the way, we've put together some helpful tips and advice to help you during a power cut. You can also download our useful resources to share with your family and neighbours. -
Report a power cut or damage to our network through our map
Power Track
You can stay updated and track the progress of any faults in your area on our Power Track map or report damage to our network. You can also follow the progress of planned interruptions as well as find the nearest EV charge point if you have an electric vehicle that needs charging during a power cut.