MP welcomes review of Storm Arwen impact on electricity network

Angus was severely affected by Storm Arwen with very significant power outages. As of last Thursday (December 2) despite Scottish and Southern Energy Networks working tirelessly to restore power to over 129,000 homes, approximately 3,100 customers remained off supply.

This included areas of Angus where around where 300 homes, mainly around Lunanhead and Maryton, were still off.

Some homes were still without power, however, into the weekend.

Mr Doogan said: “This review will focus on the role of the network companies in maintaining the resilience of the system and their emergency response, including communication with customers and if necessary Ofgem will pursue further enforcement action on this.

“This storm was exceptional in its scale and damaging effect on the network especially with the winds coming from the north east affecting tree lines not normally subject to high winds.

"What we need to understand is whether we will see these wind speeds and directions more frequently in future as our weather changes.”

Mr Doogan praised the efforts of SSEN’s staff but said that preventative measures should be taken for future incidents.

He continued: “Residents affected in Angus have been reconnected all this week thanks to the extraordinary efforts of the SSEN engineers and support staff fixing faults and liaising with customers.

"But the fact remains that being without power for so long is an incredibly severe hardship for those families affected and we need to ensure that this scale of outage is prevented from happening again in future.

“Recognising this I welcome that the £700 limit on the amount of compensation available to those affected by Storm Arwen has also been removed which means that the customers most impacted could receive up to £140 a day for each day they were off power until power is restored.”

Details about how to claim compensation and reimbursement of costs are are available by emailing [email protected].