Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) has returned to Business-as-Usual operations after teams restored supplies to over 40,000homes following the extreme weather which hit central southern England on Sunday.
Engineers and operational staff worked tirelessly since Sunday morning to restore power to customers whose electricity supplies had been impacted by heavy rain and significant winds, conditions which were considerably worse than forecast.
The severity of this weather event resulted in network damage across the region, with rural parts of Dorset, Wiltshire and Oxfordshire most affected.
Richard Gough, SSEN's Director of Distribution System Operations, said:
"The impact of Sunday's weather event was significant across our network, with coastal areas seeing wind gusts of more than 80mph, and speeds of up to 74mph recorded inland. Our overhead equipment bore the brunt of these gale-force speeds, with significant damage caused by falling trees.
"I'd like to thank our customers for their patience and understanding as our teams worked hard in challenging conditions to restore electricity supplies.
"And I thank our teams on the ground, who are continuing to work tirelessly to ensure the infrastructure is safe following this significant weather event. I'd like to reassure our customers that we are prepared and ready to respond to any further disruption."Customers can keep prepared for power interruptions by:
- Saving the free-to-dial emergency power cut number '105' to your phone to use if your power goes off, or if you see any damage to the electricity network
- Downloading SSEN's Power Track app to give you details of power cuts and restoration times
- Going to SSEN's website where there is a wealth of advice and information on how to prepare for a possible loss of power
- Following SSEN on Facebook and Twitter for regular updates.