Customers who lost power due to the extreme high winds across the north of Scotland yesterday and into the early hours of this morning will have their power restored later today by engineers from Scottish Hydro Electric Power Distribution (SHEPD).
Twenty-four faults currently affecting the distribution network operator’s area means that 1,300 customers are without power this afternoon, with the worst affected areas being the Western Isles and Sutherland. During the course of the storm, more than 13,000 customers have already had power restored.
The distribution network operator was well prepared for the possibilities of power being lost to customers in the area and mobilised several hundred front line and support staff to repair damage to the network, handle calls and update customers on its Priority Services Register.
More than 500 outbound calls have been made to check on customers and welfare vans have been deployed to areas where necessary.
All customers who have been affected by power outages are expected to have their supplies restored by 5pm today with the exception of customers on Tiree, who should be back on supply by 7pm – the adverse weather has meant that engineers are having to access the island by helicopter to carry out repairs.
Rodney Grubb, Head of Operations said: “We were well prepared for this weather event, so we had already moved engineers to areas we knew would be affected. It’s meant that we’ve been able to restore power quickly to most affected areas and where travel hadn’t been possible due to the extreme weather affecting ferries we’ve commissioned other means of transport.
“We’d like to thank all of those customers, whose power has been affected by this storm, for their patience while we’re worked to repair the damage to the network and get them back on supply.”
SHEPD, which serves 750,000 homes and business across the north of Scotland, is working with councils, emergency services and a number of other agencies to ensure that vulnerable customers are looked after.
Any customers who lose their electricity supply are urged to contact our dedicated team on 0800 300 999 to report damage or highlight neighbours or friends who may need extra help.
SHEPD will keep its customers up-to-date with the latest information and locations of welfare vans on its website www.ssepd.co.uk/news and on its social media channels @hydropd and Facebook.