SHEPD on course to restore electricity supplies to all homes

06 Jan 2012

Scottish Hydro Electric Power Distribution (SHEPD) confirms that all 40,000 customers affected by the storm force conditions which hit Scotland on Tuesday will have their electricity supplies restored tonight (6 January). Hundreds of engineers worked tirelessly for days to restore electricity to customers who had been without power. These customers were spread throughout the SHEPD territory but were found mainly in Argyll and Bute.

• Over 700 engineers were involved in restoring electricity supplies, and in some cases parts of the electricity network had to be rebuilt as it was so badly damaged by wind borne debris.
• Additional mobile generators were brought into some of the worst affected areas to ensure customers had their power supplies restored much quicker.
• When wind conditions eased, and where safe to do so, helicopters were used to speed up the process of identifying the extent of damage to power lines.

SHEPD has been working hard to keep customers informed, up-to-date and comfortable during power outages.

• SHEPD’s emergency service centre took over 35,000 calls from customers and made thousands of calls to vulnerable customers.
• Twitter (www.twitter.com/ssepd) was used to communicate directly with over 300 customers who were without power and over 70 update messages were broadcast using the social networking site.
• SHEPD’s website was kept up-to-date regularly with the latest position and some 6,700 visitors have used the website since Tuesday.
• In Argyll and Bute, SHEPD worked with the Council and Scottish Government to co-ordinate communication efforts with vulnerable customers. SHEPD also organised hot food catering vans and worked with the Scottish Hydro shop in Rothesay to provide food and refreshment facilities.

Managing Director of Networks, Mark Mathieson said: “I would like to thank our customers for their patience and understanding and pay tribute to our engineers, linesmen, control engineers and customer service teams who worked through some of the worst conditions we have seen for some time. This is the seventh exceptional weather event we have experienced since November – we typically experience one or two in a year.
“We had support from other agencies who worked with us during this challenging time and have also worked closely with the local authorities in areas where communities were affected for longer periods.”
As the situation has returned to normal, any customer who does experience a loss of electricity should contact the freephone number 0800 300 999.