SP Energy Networks engineers have restored electricity supplies to more than 206,000 customers across central and southern Scotland after six days of round the clock working to tackle the worst damage the network has ever seen.
The network was battered by hurricane speed winds of 100mph from Storm Eowyn on Friday 24 January, with power supplies, roads, transport and infrastructure bearing the brunt of the impact.
The storm, and the havoc it wreaked, were so severe that every single Scottish district in SP Energy Networks was affected, which is extremely rare.
An army of around 700 engineers was deployed across the network – from Stirling to Stranraer and Girvan to Galashiels – to assess the damage and undertake repairs despite continued adverse weather and major road closures and accessibility issues.
While most customers were back on supply within the first 24 hours, work continued non-stop until restoration was complete for all those affected by the storm in the very early hours of Thursday 30 January.
SP Energy Networks CEO, Nicola Connelly, said: “This has been a truly colossal task with our teams pulling out all the stops – and making use of every possible resource at our disposal as well as drafting in people and resources from across the country – with that singular aim of getting all our customers affected by the storm back on supply as quickly and safely as possible.
“It’s been complex and challenging, but our teams stayed focused and persevered until we achieved just that – helped massively by the patience, resilience and understanding of our customers. We know it’s been difficult and you were always at the heart of the tremendous team effort made right across our business, so thank you for your support.
“For us though, the work continues, and our teams are out there – and will be for some time – completing permanent repairs across the network and fixing the last of the damage caused by Storm Eowyn.”
The electricity network in central and southern Scotland sustained more than 100 days’ worth of faults in under three days and call centre colleagues handled over 94,000 calls – taking more than three months’ worth of calls in four days.
Supporting customers has been at the heart of SP Energy Networks’ response to Storm Eowyn, from proactively sending over 270,000 SMS messages to customers on the Priority Services Register to face-to-face customer liaison visits providing extra support to more than 1.400 of our most vulnerable customers. Welfare support provided to communities without power included warm hubs, food vans and hotel accommodation.
For those who paid for their own accommodation and subsistence while they had no power, information on how to submit a reimbursement claim is available on the SP Energy Networks website.
Customers without power for over 48 hours are entitled to automatic compensation, with increased payments for those affected the most.
Now that power supplies have been restored to all affected properties, payments will be made to eligible customers automatically as quicky as possible. There is no need for customers to contact SP Energy Networks directly on this.
Full information on reimbursement and compensation can be found at: Storm Éowyn Compensation – SP Energy Networks
