We're well-prepared for the arrival of Storm Darragh this weekend. A sustained period of gale-force winds is expected to hit our central southern England network area for most of Saturday and into Sunday.
In response, we’re at Yellow Alert status, and are bringing in hundreds of additional team members in advance of the storm arriving, to ensure any customers who lose supplies are reconnected as safely and quickly as possible.
Our weather forecasters have been monitoring this period of unsettled weather as it’s developed over the past few days. Winds are expected to increase across the central southern England region from around 5am on Saturday morning. From midday to midnight on Saturday, sustained north-westerly gusts of 60mph are expected across our network area. Wind gusts are expected to remain above 40mph throughout Sunday.
Sustained winds of this nature have the potential to affect electricity supplies, so we’re putting in place a comprehensive response before the weather hits. Hundreds more team members will be on duty compared to a normal weekend. They’ll be ready to respond to faults, get people reconnected, and provide advice and support to our customers. At this time, the most vulnerable members of our community are being contacted by telephone, and text messages with useful guidance are being sent to hundreds of thousands more of our Priority Service Register customers.
Eliane Algaard, SSEN’s Director of Customer Operations for central southern England, says:
“Storm Darragh is forecast to be this winter’s most unsettled spell of weather so far; it will bring a period of widespread, sustained strong winds throughout the weekend. We’ve been monitoring it closely, and we’re now at our Yellow Alert status, which has seen us make comprehensive preparations prior to the worst of the winds arriving.
“We’ve brought in hundreds of extra team members ahead of this weekend. They’ll be ready to respond - in our control room, in our depots across the region, and in our Customer Contact Centre. I’d like to reassure all our customers that we’re very well prepared for this particularly severe period of weather.”
We’ll continue to monitor this storm closely as it develops and issue regular updates.
📞 Help and advice
If you see any damage to our equipment, please stay back, don’t touch it and instead report it to us directly by calling 105, or via our Power Track website, and engineers will investigate as soon as possible.
Customers are also being encouraged to be prepared for the possibility of disruption to supplies by:
- Saving the emergency power cut number - '105' - to your phone to report any loss of supply or damage to the electricity network
- Visiting our Power Track Website to give you details of power cuts and restoration times. You can also report power cuts and network damage through Power Track.
- Visiting the "Preparing for a power cut" section on our website, where there is a wealth of advice and information, or to chat live to one of our advisors via the Webchat service
Customers are also eligible for our Priority Services Register (PSR) if they:
- Are deaf or hard of hearing
- Have a disability
- Live with children under five
- Are blind or partially-sighted
- Have a chronic illness
- Use medical equipment/aids reliant on electricity
- Are over 60.
To find out more about the PSR, click here or call 0800 294 3259.
How to get prepared
In preparation for any potential power cuts, we are encouraging our customers to save the emergency power cut number 105 and to follow us on Facebook and Twitter (ssencommunity) for regular updates.
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Register for extra support during a power cut
Priority Services Register
We all rely on electricity day to day for various things, but for some, a power cut can be worrying or difficult. That’s why we offer extra help and support during a power cut. Registering for our Priority Services helps us to help you when you need it most. All our priority services are free. -
View our tips and advice to help you during a power cut
Preparing for a power cut
With bad weather on the way, we've put together some helpful tips and advice to help you during a power cut. You can also download our useful resources to share with your family and neighbours. -
Report a power cut or damage to our network through our map
Power Track
You can stay updated and track the progress of any faults in your area on our Power Track map or report damage to our network. You can also follow the progress of planned interruptions as well as find the nearest EV charge point if you have an electric vehicle that needs charging during a power cut.