UK Government Energy Minister Michael Shanks has paid tribute to our teams who have been working hard to restore power for thousands of our customers.
He visited SP Energy Networks ‘storm hub’ in its Cambuslang depot where teams are co-ordinating efforts to rebuild areas of the network damaged by Storm Éowyn.
The hurricane speed winds caused more than 191,000 properties to lose power at its peak in central and southern Scotland. Over 95% of our customers in Scotland have now had power restored, with just over 9,000 still without power and works continuing to bring that number down.
In our SP Manweb licence area which covers parts of North West England and Wales, more than 52,000 customers were without power as a result of the storm. All of these customers have now had their electricity supplies restored.
Our customer service colleagues have taken over 72,000 calls since the storm hit on Friday - the equivalent of two months’ worth of calls in 48 hours. We’ve drafted additional call handlers in and are working 24/7 to manage the huge volumes and prioritise vulnerable customers.
Our teams have been using helicopters today to assess damage and identify faults.
Energy Minister Michael Shanks said: “My thoughts are with all those affected by Storm Éowyn, especially those still without power. My sincere thanks go to the energy network teams working tirelessly across the UK to restore power in such difficult conditions and keep people safe across the country.
“Meeting engineers and control room staff from SP Energy Networks who have been working day and night across the country, it is clear how much work has gone into restoring 95% of their customers and how committed they are to continuing their efforts to reconnect every single affected household.”
Hundreds of engineers have been working across the country from 6am on Friday morning to restore power as quickly and safely as possible, often in unfavourable weather conditions. Additional resources have arrived from around the UK to support the push to get power restored for our customers.
More than 200,000 SMS text messages have also been issued proactively to customers on the Priority Services Register to offer advice, support and practical help dependant on their circumstances.
While significant progress to restore power has been made, poor weather conditions have continued throughout the weekend, with snow, ice and continuing winds of over 60mph hampering some efforts to restore power. There are still issues with access in some areas due to fallen trees and hard to reach locations.
Aileen Rourke, SP Energy Networks Scotland Distribution Director, said: “We know how difficult it is for those who are still affected by the storm and commend our customers for their support and resilience as we work to restore power.
“Our teams have been working in some of the worst conditions they have ever faced, so to get that recognition from the Minister is very welcome and will give our colleagues a real boost while they get on with the job in hand.
“It’s very rare for a storm to impact so much of our network all at once and we’re doing everything we can, including bringing in extra teams from areas less impacted, to get power restored as quickly as possible.
“The strength and severity of Éowyn has caused the equivalent of over 100 days’ worth of faults in less than three days. Our engineers have been working tirelessly to repair each of these individual faults, but it is a mammoth task, especially when the weather has continued to bring challenges.
“We’ve even seen teams having to walk miles to get to broken poles and damaged power lines due to the remote locations and all of that takes time. We’ve got every resource working hard across the country to get people back on supply and will continue to work closely with the Scottish Government, local authorities and other services to support customers.”
Work is continuing with local authorities and other partners to arrange warm spaces for people to go to charge phones and get hot food and drinks. Food vans have been sent to the areas most impacted by the storm and food vouchers are available for those who need them.
For anyone experiencing a new power cut, please report it to us by calling the free, national emergency helpline 105, and remember when you call you don’t need to wait to speak to an agent – you can log faults via our automated messaging system.
SP Energy Networks invests billions to ensure its network is safe, reliable and resilient, but extreme weather conditions like Storm Éowyn’s strong winds increases the chance of power cuts.
Click here for more information on what to do in the event of a power emergency.