02 Mar 2018

Power restored to 7,500 as engineers battle Storm Emma (10:15 update)

Electricity North West engineers are battling the elements to restore power supplies to customers affected by Storm Emma.

The network operator has restored 7,500 properties overnight in Cumbria, Lancashire, Greater Manchester and the Peak District following the amber weather warning for snow.

There are currently 5,000 properties without power across 100 separate faults on the network, each requiring teams to attend site to make repairs.

The combination of very high winds and snow has made restoration efforts very difficult.

Electricity North West incident manager, Chris Fox said: "High winds across the North West have caused damage to our overhead line network, and the snow and ice have added weight to the lines in some instances causing lines to come down and poles to break.

"The snow is also causing access issues even with our fleet of 4x4s, and we are working with the emergency services to highlight priority areas for restoration. Please get in touch with us if you are without power and stay safe and warm until our engineers can restore power."

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

To report a power cut please call the new national number 105, follow @ElectricityNW on Twitter or Facebook.