UPDATE: 

Operations Director Graham Halladay said: “We have texted 24,000 of our customers in the South West to assure them that we are still working on fixing the network.

"We care about every single customer – the thought of the difficult circumstances customers are facing is spurring on our staff who are now into their third day of repairs, with the weather outlook looking increasingly poor for the week ahead too.
"Everyone here will keep going until all of our customers have power again. The weather is not being helpful but all of our teams in the field and in our control and contact centres are determined to fix this.

“None of us can remember experiencing three storms in a week before. And certainly not of this ferocity. Once again, I urge customers who see a fallen power line to stay clear and call 105 immediately.

"Safety is paramount and our engineers are trained to deal with these issues and have the specialist equipment that keeps them safe.
"We are answering calls within five minutes on average and we have hundreds of additional staff from non-operational business functions taking calls so we can keep our customers informed as soon as new information is available from each site.”

The message on Western Power Distribution's website also read: 

"Operating in worsening weather conditions, our engineers are continuing the herculean task of restoring electricity supplies to customers affected by Storm Eunice.

"The main issue facing us is the number of trees that have fallen onto power lines and across roads. This is making it difficult to even reach some faults and then once on site, it is taking much longer to fix them as we have to safely clear the debris before we can start repairs. We are sorry it is taking so long.
"As soon as we complete one complex repair our teams are straight onto the next – we are working flat out and have every available resource out on the network.

"Storm Eunice was the worst we have ever experienced in the South West and has brought massive disruption to other parts of the network too.
"Our teams are up against some horrible weather as they battle the elements to get the lights back on.

"The Met Office has now named Storm Franklin, which is bringing strong winds for the next 24 hours. The worst of the conditions should be to the north of our region but we will be experiencing strong winds, which may cause further issues."



More updates will be available around 5pm today, Sunday, February 20.


READ MORE: 

Western Power Distribution updates on power cuts in the South West

  


THOUSANDS of properties in Somerset are still without power after Storm Eunice hit the region on Friday (February 18).

Western Power Distribution (WPD) says it is working to restore electricity to its customers and is “working nonstop to get things sorted”.

Somerset is one of the “worst affected areas” and 29,282 customers across the South West are still without power.

This morning, Sunday February 20, an update on WPD’s website read: “In the South West we have restored 270,414 customers and are working to restore supplies to 29,282 customers. The worst affected areas are Somerset and North Devon”.

Bridgwater Mercury:
A Western Power Distribution map showing multiple incidents across Somerset and the south west (Image: Western Power Distribution)

Operations director Graham Halladay said: “We know that our customers are really struggling. It is cold and being without power can be hugely disruptive and very worrying.

“We have simply never seen damage on this scale before – it is the worst storm in decades. We are working nonstop to get things sorted. I want to say a huge thank you to our customers for their patience.

“Everyone at WPD is dedicated to the restoration effort – we care about every single incident and we are working through the backlog as quickly as humanly possible.

“We have hundreds of engineers and contractors working long hours, many away from their own homes and families for several days, to put this right and get the lights back on. I can reassure customers that no one has been forgotten and I would like to thank the staff for their efforts.”

The company’s update also read: “The majority of customers affected by Storm Eunice in our South West region will have their electricity restored by midnight with the final few on Monday.

“However, further poor weather is forecast, which could create additional challenges. We are aware that our power cut map is showing restoration times into Tuesday but these are for new faults.

“Overnight our crews restored supplies to a further 28,000 customers. Since the start of the storm nearly 475,000 customers have had their power restored. Our engineers are continuing the battle to restore supplies to the remaining 32,000.

"We are extremely sorry to customers still off supply. We have thousands of staff across WPD working to restore power and to keep customers informed.

"Hundreds of business support staff from across our wider business have been drafted in for the last several days to take customer calls – with volumes remaining around eight times busier than usual. We have also handled over a month’s worth of hits on our website – over 1.1 million - in a single day.”

WPD said there will be further updates at 5pm today (Sunday, February 20).

Somerset County Council have set up a drop-in centre in Wiveliscombe to help those affected by power cuts in the area.





 

READ MORE: Met Office issue yellow wind warning for most of the UK
READ MORE: Storm Eunice leaves thousands of homes without power