Storm Arwen update: Power firm working hard to reconnect 20,000

Power company workers were working around the clock yesterday to get electricity supplies restored to some 20,000 people in the region following the destruction caused by Storm Arwen.

Northern Powergrid says it has drafted in more than 100 engineers from other power networks and has, so far, turned the lights back on for 220,000 of the 240,000 homes and business impacted by the storm.

Rod Gardner, Northern Powergrid’s major incident manager, said: “All of our teams are continuing to work extremely hard to restore power to our customers. “We still have some work to do with the vast majority of that in the Tyne and Wear, County Durham and Northumberland areas.

“We have some large sections of overhead line that will need to be rebuilt in order to return supplies back to normal and three helicopters in the sky patrolling overhead lines in order to locate damage and coordinate repairs.”

He added: “We have set up a dedicated engineering resource and a front line customer welfare task force and are coordinating with local authorities in the area.

“We fully understand and appreciate peoples’ growing frustrations and are very sorry for the continued impact to our customers’ lives and we thank them for their continued patience and understanding.”

The firm says it is prioritising support for its most vulnerable customers.

Any customer with a vulnerability who are concerned about remaining off supply can contact the firm on 105.

The company has also warned people who spot any damaged cables or equipment not approach it as it may still be live and pose a risk of electrocution.