Storm Boelo: Recovery Update

Dear Councillor

 

Following the significant impacts of Storm Boelo, I'm pleased to share that we are now through the worst of the disruption, with the vast majority of customers who lost power having had their supply restored.

 

We recognise that for many residents, particularly those who have experienced prolonged interruptions, the last few days have been challenging. We'd like to thank communities across Ayrshire, Dumfries and Fife for their patience, support and understanding while our teams worked around the clock to restore supplies.

 

Whilst the majority of customers are now back on supply, our work is not yet complete. This morning's amber wind conditions caused some additional damage and isolated faults across the network, and our engineers are already back out locating and repairing those issues.

 

Residents in Ayrshire may see our helicopter carrying out aerial patrols of overhead lines, helping us identify damage in locations that can be difficult to access from the ground. Once work in Ayrshire is complete, the helicopter will move across to Dumfries to support restoration efforts there. Combined with our teams on the ground, this helps us find faults more quickly and restore power faster for customers still affected.

 

Communities across Ayrshire, Dumfries and Fife will continue to see a strong SP Energy Networks presence. Put simply, we won't be leaving an area until we're confident we've identified and repaired the remaining storm-related damage.

 

As we move from emergency restoration into the final stages of repair, some customers may experience short planned power interruptions. These temporary outages allow our engineers to safely complete permanent repairs and strengthen sections of the network damaged during the storm. We appreciate this can be frustrating, particularly for customers who have already experienced an outage, but these interruptions will be kept as short as possible. Where we can, our customer service teams will contact affected customers in advance.

 

We would also encourage any residents who may be vulnerable during a power outage, or who know someone who could benefit from additional support, to check they are registered on our Priority Services Register. (Priority Services Register - SP Energy Networks)

 

For safety reasons, we continue to ask residents to stay well clear of any damaged electricity equipment, fallen power lines or power infrastructure. If there is an immediate risk to safety, residents should call 999 immediately. Any damage, fallen lines or electricity network concerns should also be reported to us by calling 105, so we can make the area safe and dispatch engineers as quickly as possible.

 

If residents experience a power outage and have not already reported it, calling 105 remains the quickest and most effective way for us to provide support and ensure we are aware of the issue. Even if an outage appears localised, it is always better to let us know.

 

We would be grateful if you could share this update within your communities and help reassure residents that while the worst of the storm is behind us, those still affected have not been forgotten and our teams remain fully focused on completing the job.

 

Thank you for your continued support.

 

Heather Heaton

Stakeholder Engagement and Communications Manager