SP Electricity North West engineers have restored power to more than 80,000 properties affected by Storm Boelo, as teams continue efforts to reconnect the remaining 3,000.
Having been unable to safely climb poles yesterday, engineers are making good progress despite continuing high winds and heavy rain today.
Teams have also restored supplies through remote switching to reconfigure the network where possible, while around 100 individual sites still require physical repairs on site to restore power.
Debris including large trees, branches and flooding caused widespread damage to overhead lines, particularly across Cumbria and Lancashire, but have also hampered efforts of engineers to reach the affected areas and get specialist equipment in. The highest impacted area within the region was St Bees in Cumbria which saw gusts of 78mph.
Paul Killilea at Electricity North West said: "Our teams have worked incredibly hard over the last few days in very challenging conditions and have already restored power to tens of thousands of customers. Our focus is now firmly on those properties still without power, many of which are affected by physical damage to the network.
"We're working as hard as we can with extra teams drafted in from across the region and from other less affected networks to get supplies back as soon as possible.
"We’ll restore power to properties in stages throughout the day however our expected time for full restoration of all properties remains 6pm Tuesday. This is based on feedback from customers following previous storms who have told us they want to know the worst-case-scenario. We do hope to get most people on before then and have brought in extra resource from our other network areas to support."
The network operator has also provided a number of warm hubs in key areas that are most affected to support customers. SP Electricity North West has partnered with local businesses to provide those without power with a warm place to rest and recuperate, hot food and drinks, and somewhere they can charge their mobile devices to stay connected.
“We know how difficult and frustrating it is to be without power, particularly for customers who rely on medical equipment or may need additional support," added Paul. "In addition to our engineers working to complete repairs, our customer teams are available online and by phone and are even knocking on doors where we can to provide support.
“I'd like to thank our customers for their continued patience and understanding while our teams work as quickly and safely as possible to restore supplies.”
A new Yellow Met Office weather warning for wind is in place from 6pm this evening.
Anyone who sees damage to the electricity network should stay well clear and report it to SP Electricity North West by calling 105 so teams can make the area safe.
The quickest way to report a power cut is through the SP Electricity North West website at www.enwl.co.uk/Boelo. Customers can also contact the company through X or Facebook, or call 105 free from any phone.
