Engineers from Electricity North West have restored power to 15,200 properties since Storm Ali brought severe gales to the North West today.
The region’s power network operator has repaired damage to overhead power lines, mainly in Cumbria and north Lancashire, caused by the severe weather and flying debris throughout the day.
Engineers will continue to work through the evening to restore power to the remaining 7,500 properties currently off, including properties in Wigton, Silloth, Bridgefoot and Penrith.
Chris Fox, network systems manager for Electricity North West, said: “I’m extremely proud of the work carried out so far today by our engineers to repair the damage and restore power to customers after the severe weather.
“We have extra engineers working and ready to cover late shifts too. They have worked in difficult conditions to repair the damage and we know that our job isn’t finished until the last customer is back on. Unfortunately we’re not out of the bad weather yet and as we restore power more faults are coming in but we are getting people back on as soon as we can.
“At this stage it’s likely that we’ll have some customers off overnight in the north Lakes, due to the scale of the incident and the damage done to the network in those areas. We’ll update customers where we can through local radio, social media and our website.”
Customers should visit www.enwl.co.uk/powercuts for more information, or follow Electricity North West on Facebook or Twitter. Customers can also call Electricity North West on 105 to report power cuts.
If customers see any lines down, or branches or debris hanging from lines, Electricity North West is urging them to stay away and call them as soon as possible on 105.
Electricity North West offers extra support to customers through its Priority Services Register. Extra support is available to customers if they require it. Customers can register online by visiting www.enwl.co.uk/priority or calling Electricity North West on 105.
For advice on how to be prepared and stay safe please visit www.enwl.co.uk/power-cuts/dealing-with-power-cuts.
