SHEPD continues to restore electricity to homes without power
05 Jan 2012
Scottish Hydro Electric Power Distribution (SHEPD) engineers have made good progress repairing the significant faults on the electricity network in the Argyll area but around 9,000 homes remain without power. However SHEPD still expects the vast majority of customers to have their power restored later today.
The return of strong winds last night hampered progress in repairing existing faults and caused further damage to the electricity network – particularly around Dunoon and Bute.
Over 700 engineers are working on faults across SHEPD's network - over 150 of these are in the Dunoon area alone.
In a many locations fallen trees and wind borne debris have caused multiple points of damage to the same stretch of network. These locations often have access issues as well and this is why some faults are taking longer to repair than expected.
SHEPD continues to proactively calling hundreds of customers who are without power, particularly vulnerable customers and those who have been without power for some time. Where appropriate accommodation and hot food has been made available to these customers.
Customers who are concerned about vulnerable neighbours should call us on 0800 300 999.
We are providing regular website updates (www.ssepd.co.uk) and using social media (www.twitter.com/ssepd) as, increasingly, customers are using smart phones and other mobile devices to get information.
SHEPD teams have undertaken the equivalent of six months of fault repair work within the last four weeks.
Position on compensation:
Our focus right now continues to be on restoring electricity supplies as soon as possible to those customers who are still without power. Once we have done that we will begin to address customers' requests for compensation, including proactively contacting customers who we know have been significantly affected.
The industry regulator, Ofgem. specifies through their 'guaranteed standards' exactly when and how much compensation we are required to pay to customers who have lost their electricity supply. In an exceptional storm event such as this, customers who have been without power continuously for more than 48 hours would normally be eligible for compensation. However, SHEPD always assess claims on a case by case basis and may choose to make ex-gratia payments to customers which go beyond those required by Ofgem.
Customers who believe they have grounds for making a claim should write to:Claims Department, Scottish Hydro Electric Power Distribution, Inveralmond House, 200 Dunkeld Road, Perth, PH1 3AQ.