Scottish Hydro Electric Power Distribution has restored supplies to 27,500 customers after hurricane winds wreaked havoc across parts of northern and western Scotland.
Engineers working in extremely challenging and potentially dangerous conditions are working hard to restore electricity to a further 69,500 customers. Strong winds with gusts of up to 113mph in areas and rain have been hampering efforts to repair or replace equipment damaged by the storm.
A thousand technical and support staff were mobilised ahead of the storm, and despatched to rural areas where the storm was likely to cause the most damage. Staff from SHEPD’s sister company in England have also been working in Scotland to restore supplies. These numbers have been bolstered by external contractors. St Johnstone Football Club in Perth has allowed SHEPD to use its ground at McDiarmid Park as a staging post from where engineering teams are being despatched.
SHEPD, which serves 750,000 customers, is working with councils, emergency services and a number of other agencies to ensure that vulnerable customers are looked after. So far customer call centre staff have contacted 1500 customers on the company’s priority service register.
Rural areas and the Western Isles have borne the full brunt of the storm. These are the number of customers off supply at the moment:
| Area | Customers Affected |
| Aberdeenshire | 2427 |
| Buchan | 2250 |
| Rural areas around Dingwall | 16500 |
| Rural areas around Dunblane | 1922 |
| Rural areas around Dunoon | 2228 |
| Elgin/Huntly | 2764 |
| Rural areas around Fort William | 3191 |
| Inverness-shire | 9200 |
| Rural areas around Oban | 3946 |
| Orkney | 889 |
| Rural areas around Perth | 1513 |
| Skye | 6978 |
| Western Isles | 8435 |
| Rural areas around Wick | 7286 |
Keep an eye on SSEPD's live storm feed on their website for all of the latest updates.
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