Engineers worked in difficult conditions to restore power to 13,000 properties during Storm Dennis and 27,000 properties during Storm Ciara earlier in the month and the North West’s power network operator is stepping up its preparations again ahead for Storm Jorge.
Storm Jorge, named by the Spanish meteorological services, is set to bring gusts of up to 75mph, which could cause damage to overhead power lines as debris and trees affect the network, along with heavy showers. Electricity North West is increasing the number of engineers on standby with colleagues across the organisation monitoring the forecast ready to respond.
Sam Loukes, Incident Manager at Electricity North West, said: “We have experienced an extremely busy February so far, but our preparations for Storm Jorge are well under way. We have extra engineers and standby staff available over the weekend and we are continuing to monitor the weather daily.
“We invest millions of pounds throughout the year reinforcing and protecting the network and we are well rehearsed and respond quickly when the weather does hit and our engineers don’t stop until the last customer is restored.
“During Storm Ciara and Storm Dennis our increased flood defences ensured that a number of key operational assets remained unaffected.
“As always, if anybody does see any damage to the electricity network, we urge them to stay away and report it to us immediately by calling 105.”
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.
