Members of the Scottish Parliament have commended the work of the engineers from Scottish Hydro Electric Power Distribution (SHEPD) and Southern Electric Power Distribution (SEPD) who tackled atrocious weather conditions to restore power to over 120,000 homes across the north of Scotland.
The motion, lodged by Rhoda Grant MSP for Highlands and Islands was supported by several MSPs and stated:
“That the Parliament… notes the welfare programmes, which include the provision of hot food, drinks and mobile phone charging facilities, put in place for people throughout the Highlands; considers that the inclement conditions, including high winds, rain, sleet, snow, lightning, freezing temperatures and fallen trees, have hampered efforts, including making it difficult to access island areas due to travel disruption on ferries and flights.”
They also mentioned the thousands of calls made by call centre staff to those without power and in particular those who are listed on the Priority Services Register, as well as recognising the work carried out by the company’s community liaison teams who worked with partner agencies to visit vulnerable customers, providing them with hot food and drinks as well as charging batteries for emergency ‘on call’ alarms, and - where possible – accommodating them in hotels.