Electricity North West engineers have restored power to 25,600 properties as Storm Éowyn continues to batter the region.
Tree branches and debris are causing widespread damage, bringing down and colliding with overhead power lines and wind speeds have already been recorded at 80mph. Wind speeds of up to 85mph are expected until late Friday afternoon.
Electricity North West’s investment in technology has already played a crucial role in restoring power and where possible, engineers are carrying out repairs on site and are working to restore power to 6,000 properties.
In some instances, given the severe wind speeds, it may not be safe for overhead lines teams to climb poles and repair damage until wind speeds decrease.
Electricity North West has already made the decision to set restoration times on some power cuts at 6pm tomorrow. This is following feedback from customers who want to know the ‘worst case scenario.’
“The weather conditions that are forecast are on a par with Storm Arwen,” said Stephanie Trubshaw, Electricity North West’s incident manager.
“Already, we’re seeing disruption on the network, this has varied from trees hitting overhead lines and debris such as plastic sheets colliding with wood lines and poles.
“Conditions certainly won’t be easy and if we can’t restore people remotely utilising technology, teams will carry out repairs when it is safe to do so.
“We’ve also made the early decision to set restoration times at 6pm tomorrow, Saturday, this is following extensive feedback from customers. They’ve requested the worst-case scenario at present so plans can be made in advance.
“However, I want to stress if power can be restored earlier, we’ll do exactly that and we’ll keep customers regularly updated.”
Met Office Amber weather warnings remain in place for all of the North West until midnight on Friday.
As well as engineers responding to damage on the network, hundreds of Electricity North West colleagues are proactively ringing customers to provide updates.
Ahead of Storm Éowyn, Electricity North West’s customer team proactively contacted more than 70,000 people on its Extra Care Register to raise awareness and help people prepare. Since midnight, its contact centre has already handled more than 1,200 calls from customers.
“Our teams will work around the clock to restore power to our customers,” added Steph.
“We know it can be incredibly difficult to be without power, especially if you rely on it for medical equipment or have other needs, so if you need any additional support, please contact us and let us know.”
You can view live power cut information in the region at www.enwl.co.uk/powercuts, get in touch on X or Facebook, or by calling 105 for free from any phone.
Electricity North West offers extra support to customers through its Extra Care Register. For more information and to register go to www.enwl.co.uk/ExtraCare.
