SSEN restores power to over 33,000 homes as it responds to the impact of Storm Henk – 7.30pm update.
Engineers from Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) Distribution are responding to the impact of Storm Henk which has brought a period of intense storm-force winds and heavy rain across central southern England this afternoon.
Wind gusts in excess of 70mph were observed in coastal areas and higher ground, with gusts of over 60mph more generally across SSEN’s central southern England region. This was some 10-15mph higher than originally forecast and has led to damage to overhead electricity network from fallen trees, branches, and other wind-borne debris.
As of 7pm, SSEN has restored power to 33,500 homes, with 13,500 customers currently without power. In parallel with restoring customers through rerouting the network and progressing fault repairs, engineers are currently assessing the scale of damage to the network experienced this afternoon. This will include line patrols tomorrow morning at first light. Updated estimated restoration times are being issued to customers at the earliest possible opportunity.
Due to the deteriorating forecast, the Met Office officially named this weather front as Storm Henk this morning, alongside issuing an upgraded amber warning for wind.
Earlier this week SSEN activated its well-rehearsed contingency plans and stood up additional teams to deal with any damage to the network and subsequent faults, which may impact customers’ power supplies. Teams and resource have been further strengthened through the course of today.
Welfare units providing hot drinks and food are being mobilised to several locations across SSEN’s network area for customers who may be without power overnight, up-to-date details of the locations of these can be found on our social media channels (SSEnet – Home (facebook.com), Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (@ssencommunity) / X (twitter.com))
If you see any damage to our equipment, please stay back, don’t touch it and instead report it to us directly via our Power Track website or by calling 105, and engineers will investigate as soon as possible.
Customers are also being encouraged to report any power losses and respond to supplies by:
- Saving the emergency power cut number – ‘105’ – to your phone to report any loss of supply or damage to the electricity network
- Visiting our Power Track Website to give you details of power cuts and restoration times. You can also report power cuts and network damage through Power Track.
- Visiting the “Preparing for a power cut” section on our website, where there is a wealth of advice and information, or to chat live to one of our advisors via the Webchat service
Customers are also eligible for our Priority Services Register (PSR) if they:
- Are deaf or hard of hearing
- Have a disability
- Live with children under five
- Are blind or partially-sighted
- Have a chronic illness
- Use medical equipment/aids reliant on electricity
- Are over 60.
To find out more about the PSR, click here or call 0800 294 3259.
We please ask that you share these important messages with members of your communities to allow them to prepare for any potential disruption of supply.
We will continue to keep you updated on our activities and our response via our social media channels, links to our latest Facebook, Instagram, and X (Twitter) channels can be found below.
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks | Facebook
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ssencommunity
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us directly.
Kind Regards,
Patricia Carr
Stakeholder Relations Manager, SSEN Distribution
