We're moving to Weather Warning status in the north of Scotland ahead of Storm Boelo, which is forecast to bring gale-force winds and heavy rain over the weekend.
Need help during Storm Boelo?
Check for power cuts, report network damage, access extra support or find advice on preparing for severe weather.
💨 The weather forecast
Storm Boelo is forecast to bring very strong winds and heavy rain across the north of Scotland on Saturday and Sunday, with periods of extremely high wind gusts expected on both days.
The Met Office has also issued weather warnings.
View the latest Met Office weather warnings
Saturday
From around 12pm on Saturday, very strong winds are forecast to affect the Western Isles, Argyll and West Highlands, with gusts potentially reaching 80mph in some areas.
After easing for a few hours, another period of strong gusts is expected from around 9pm, affecting these same areas as well as the Shetland Islands, continuing into the night.
Prolonged heavy rain is also forecast throughout Saturday.
Sunday
Strong winds along the west coast are expected to continue overnight into Sunday morning.
From around 9am, further gusts of up to 85mph are forecast across the Northern and Central Highlands, the Western Isles and the north coast of the North East region.
The Northern Isles are also expected to be affected from around 6pm on Sunday.
👷 How we're responding
Our heightened 'Weather Warning' status reflects the potential for Storm Boelo's strong winds and heavy rain to damage parts of our electricity network, potentially causing power cuts for some customers.
Moving to this status means we've activated our well-rehearsed contingency plans, bringing in additional teams to deal with any damage to the network and subsequent faults.
We've also increased the number of people on duty in our Customer Contact Centres, where they'll be ready to answer calls and respond to customer queries on social media throughout the storm.
Ahead of Storm Boelo's arrival, we'll be sending text messages to more than 220,000 of our more vulnerable customers, providing guidance on how to prepare for the severe weather and advice on what to do if their power goes off.
We'll continue to monitor Storm Boelo closely throughout the weekend and issue further updates depending on the forecast.
📞 Help and advice
Stay safe around damaged electricity equipment
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, and engineers will investigate as soon as possible.
Customers are also being encouraged to be prepared for the possibility of disruption to supplies by:
- Saving the 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 to give you 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 is a wealth of advice and information, or to chat live to one of our advisors via the Webchat service.
Priority Services
Customers are also eligible for our Priority Services 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 SSEN's Priority Services, visit our website 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.