Thursday 15 January 2015

Storms steal power in south east England

There are 1,649 people still without power after storms swept through central southern England last night.

Customers in areas ranging from Reading, to Southampton and the Isle of Wight are waiting to be reconnected, as of noon today (15 January).

Forecasters at the Met Office had predicted the "volatile" weather at the start of the week would continue yesterday and onto the weekend, with strong winds for many and heavy rain in places.

More than 21,000 customers who initially lost power were hooked back to the grid by energy supplier SSE’s network business overnight.

SEPD apologised to customers but claimed the power cuts were better than they could have been.

Bev Keogh, Head of Operations said: “We have invested £95m in strengthening the network ahead of this winter and on the whole it withstood the challenges posed by the severe weather. Where the wind was at its strongest, windborne debris fell onto our power lines, causing supply to be disrupted.”

People who lose their electricity supply can call SEPD on 0800 300 999 to report damage or highlight neighbours or friends who may need extra help.

Customers currently without power in the following areas are:

Aldershot, Basingstoke and Petersfield - 445 customers

Portsmouth, Chichester and Isle of Wight - 42 customers

Melksham & Swindon - 400 customers

New Forest, Southampton and Salisbury - 116 customers

Poole, Bournemouth, Weymouth and Yeovil - 288 customers

Reading and Newbury - 358 customers