A yellow weather warning is in place on Sunday as forecasters are predicting strong winds across Cumbria.
Electricity North West is putting plans in place to monitor the network and ensure supplies and teams are available to respond if the storm causes damage to overhead lines.
Richard Moulton, incident manager for Electricity North West, said: “We’ve been monitoring the weather for several days and started to plan ahead of Storm Ashley being named.
“The forecast is for extremely strong winds across Cumbria and surrounding areas. Our local teams are on standby and ready to respond quickly to support our customers.
“We’re encouraging customers who may benefit from extra support to make sure they’re signed up to our free Extra Care Register and check our website and social media channels for updates.”
Storm Ashley is the first named storm of winter after last year brought a record-breaking 12 named storms.
Richard Moulton added: “Our preparations for bad weather never stop. Our teams of tree cutters work year-round engaging with landowners for permission to cut back trees from overhead lines to reduce the chance of swaying branches causing power cuts in stormy weather.
“While we do as much as we can, falling trees and other debris can still cause damage to the network. If people do see damage to the power network because of Storm Ashley, firstly they must stay away from the equipment as it could still be live and then immediately call us on 105 to report and to allow us to make the area safe.”
As part of the yellow weather warning, experts from the Met Office say that people should expect fallen trees and that there is a good chance that power cuts may occur, with the potential to affect other services, such as mobile phone coverage.
You can view any live power cut information in the region on Electricity North West’s website here, get in touch on Twitter or Facebook, or by calling for free on 105 from any phone.
Electricity North West offers extra support to customers through their Priority Services Register. For more information and to register visit www.enwl.co.uk/priority.
Customers can stay safe and prepare themselves in the event of potential power cuts by following the simple advice here www.enwl.co.uk/power-cuts/helpful-tips.
You can see how Electricity North West prepares the network throughout the year by watching this video.
For more information about Electricity North West, please visit www.enwl.co.uk.
