Electricity North West has ramped up its resources after the Met Office issued amber and yellow weather warnings across its region and has shared advice on how you can prepare for possible power cuts.
Forecasters are predicting several centimetres of snow to fall throughout the day and overnight whilst gusts in some higher areas are expected to top 50mph which can cause flying debris to damage overhead lines.
Electricity North West, who operate the region’s power network, has plans in place to monitor the network and ensure supplies and teams are available to respond if the conditions cause damage to overhead lines. As of Thursday morning, the company confirmed that there were no weather-related issues affecting the network.
Steph Trubshaw, Electricity North West’s customer director, said: “We constantly monitor the weather with bespoke forecasts to understand potential impacts on the power network, so we can put plans in place to reduce disruption for customers.
“Throughout the day and overnight, we’ll have extra resources available on standby and they’ll be ready to respond immediately should the weather cause power cuts. Our customer team will also be available for support if it’s needed and we’ll be providing regular updates through our social media channels and on our website to keep everyone updated.”
As part of the weather warnings, experts from the Met Office say that people should expect travel delays and power cuts could happen in the worst affected areas along with disruption to other services affected such as phone signal.
As well as snow and ice forming on overhead lines causing them to sometimes break under the weight, snowy conditions can affect engineers’ ability to respond due to potential access issues caused by heavy snow.
Each year, Electricity North West invests millions of pounds to protect its network by cutting back trees which are close to its overhead lines, reducing the chances of them hitting lines and causing power cuts
“We’re prepared and we we’ll always do our utmost to respond quickly if anything happens,” added Steph. “Our teams have vast amounts of experience working in difficult conditions and I encourage people to make their own preparations too by following our simple guidance too”
TOP TEN TIPS FOR POWER CUTS
- Keep torches and batteries handy and keep your mobile phone charged in case there's an unexpected power cut
- Keep an eye on weather forecasts and take note of local weather warnings which can cause disruption to power supplies
- Check our power cut pages and write down or save our number - 105 - in case you need to report a power cut
- Check if your landline will still work in a power cut and write down other key phone numbers in case your mobile does run out of charge
- If anyone in your household needs additional support, join our free extra care register
- If you use medical equipment, make sure it has a battery backup or manual function. If in doubt, speak to your healthcare professional or equipment manufacturer.
- If you do have a power cut, check www.enwl.co.uk/powercuts for updates if you have mobile reception, contact us on social media or by calling us on 105.
- If you see any damage to the network, call us immediately on 105 and stay at least 5 metres away. If there is an immediate threat to life, call 999.
- Check on neighbours who might need additional support
- Switch off appliances like ovens or heaters but leave a light on so you know when power is restored.
You can view any live power cut information at www.enwl.co.uk/powercuts and, get in touch on Twitter or Facebook, or by calling for free on 105 from any phone.
Visit www.enwl.co.uk/BeWinterReady for more help and advice.
You can also see how Electricity North West prepares the network throughout the year by watching this video.
