There have been more power outages in Scotland and the north than ever before Storm Arwen. Weather is expected to continue getting worse over the coming days with even more rain, wind and snow.
Northern Powergrid had previously stated that homes might be without power from Wednesday, 8 November, but they now anticipate to finish their work, which will include rebuilding overhead lines, damaged by Arwen.
According to a spokesperson for the company, 260 generators were installed in the east for power restoration for people affected.
Northern Powergrid spokeswoman said that she was optimistic that work will be completed on Tuesday as long as there is no additional damage.
Many are frustrated at the lack of government intervention, including James Cosslett, a local councillor for Durham County Council, who said: ‘I’m a Tory, but I’ve got to be honest with you, if this happened in London, can you imagine, or in the southeast, everything would have got thrown at it,’ he told The Times.
With huge amounts of rain and wind ending last night, further power outages were caused by Steven Bridgett (a Northumberland county councillor). He stated that over 600 homes in Rothbury have lost electricity.
He stated that the people who he had spoken to in County Durham felt alone, angry, and forgotten.
Sky News spoke to Mr Bridgett: “I strongly believe that, if it had been this situation where 20,000 properties in Surrey and London were without power, the government will have dealt with the matter more seriously.”
‘[Last night]All of the positive work from the previous three or four days has been pretty much lost.
“We now have power at 600 of our properties.
“We also have severe surface water flooding occurring in this region.”
“Some roads are already flooding.
“We’ve had steady rainfall since 12 to 14 hours.
“It began as snow, then it developed into heavy rain with wind.
Temperatures will plummet across Britain this week due to five days of snow, and blistering winds.
The latest weather data is predicting five consecutive days of snow set to start today, with much of it falling over higher ground in the north of the country.
These areas will be the hardest affected, including the North Yorkshire Moors (Lincolshire) and Lincolnshire (Eastern England), while the North West is expected to see strong winds and extensive rain.
One forecast predicts a harsh overnight windchill could plunge some areas as low as -11C (12F) into the week as conditions become much more bitter.
A torrential downpour of snow was expected to hit the south as well, with Hereford and West London experiencing temperatures of -2C overnight Friday.
The thousands of residents of northern England and Scotland still without electricity eight days after storm Arwen, which caused extensive network damage in parts of the UK, raises serious concerns.
According to the latest figures released by industry group Energy Networks Association (ENA), approximately 9,200 households were left without electricity on Friday night.
Many people are now bracing to face almost-freezing temperatures. Parts of Scotland and northern England will experience lows of 1C (34F) and heavy rain in the coming 24 hours.
Britain is bracing for blistering weather conditions including five days of snow and an overnight windchill that could push temperatures as low as -11C – as thousands of vulnerable people are still without power following deadly Storm Arwen. Pictured: Huge waves at Blackpool North shore
The Northeast coast of Scotland and some parts of Scotland were expected to be hit by five days of snowfall, and windchill overnight. Photo: Yesterday, waves crashed over Blackpool’s tramlines
The thousands of residents in Scotland and northern England who have been without electricity for eight days are causing great concern. Pictured: On Friday, a welfare check was done on Weatherhill resident. This is after the storm that caused “catastrophic” damage to the electricity grid.
Ministry of Defence (MoD), published photographs of Royal Marines of 45 Command in remote Aberdeenshire communities.
The Sun reports that even villages near The Queen’s Balmoral Castle estate were affected by the severe weather conditions, and her Highlands home’s skeleton staff was battered by the 90mph winds, blizzards, and other extremes.
Met Office meteorologist Steve Keats said: ‘A couple of points to watch for will be winds, which under normal circumstances wouldn’t be an issue but if you’re trying to repair downed power lines it’s more sensitive.
It is predicted that Saturday will be very cold. There will be quite a mild windshield coming down from the northwest, so it’s going to feel not much above freezing for quite a lot of places.’
Ofgem, an energy regulator, has issued warnings about the long delays and threatened to take action against any network company that failed to provide power back to customers in a timely manner following the storm.
Ofgem said Friday that it would be reviewing the response of its companies to the severe storm that left many homes without power.
It has also agreed with firms to lift the £700 cap on compensation which could be given to customers.
The change will allow those affected to claim £70 for each 12-hour period they are left without power, after an initial £70 for the first 48 hours.
Jonathan Brearley, Chief Executive of BBC Radio 4, stated that customers without power for more than one week are deeply concern.
“We are trying to find out the facts, and ensure that we know what happened. We also want to verify whether network companies met their obligations. We will enforce if they don’t comply.
A band of rain expected to fall on Monday, followed by widespread snow in Scotland, Northern England, the Midlands and North Wales. Pictured: Blackpool North shore
According to the Met Office, Saturday’s weather forecast is cold and windy. Some hilly regions could see snow. Pictured: The sunrise over Whitby, north-east England
The east coast will see showers and cold weather on Sunday. However, the west should have sunny skies and dry weather. Pictured: Whitby Abbey casting a shadow
“We set clear goals for how quickly they will get people back onto the system.
“We are aware of the difficult circumstances these companies find themselves in. We expect network companies to not only be persistent in connecting people but to also provide support.
Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister said: “My thoughts and prayers are with all of those still affected from the horrible damage caused by Storm Arwen.
“I’d like to say thank you to all the emergency workers and engineers that worked so hard this week to bring back power.
“I want to also thank the brilliant Armed Forces for their rapid deployment to help those most in need.”
According to the Ministry of Defence, 297 British Army and Royal Marines personnel are providing support for civil authorities in affected areas. They are performing door-to-door inspections of vulnerable persons in their homes as well as providing comfort and guidance to communities.
A statement stated that eighty soldiers from the Royal Artillery 4 based at Alan Brook Barracks, Topcliffe were deployed to Northumberland Saturday to support vulnerable individuals and to identify areas where more assistance is needed.
Ben Wallace, Defence Secretary: “Our dedicated Armed Forces personnel work side-by-side with civil authorities in order to provide essential support for communities affected by Storm Arwen.
According to the Ministry of Defence, 297 British Army and Royal Marines personnel are providing support for civil authorities in Storm Arwen-affected areas. They are performing door-to-door inspections of vulnerable persons in their homes, and offering reassurance and assistance to local communities
Today’s weather conditions will be characterized by rain moving eastwards. Then, most areas will experience a mix of sunshine and thunder showers. While the showers are most severe and frequent to the west and north, northern areas will see more rainy and snowy storms. Pictured: Sunrise over Whitby
“The capability to quickly deploy to the UK to provide assistance wherever it is needed makes us safer, and allows us to protect those most in need.
With electricity companies, the head of the regulator for energy has reached an agreement to raise the compensation cap for customers who lost power after Storm Arwen.
Ofgem said Friday that it would be reviewing the response of its companies to the severe storm that left many homes without power.
The agreement between the regulator and companies means customers could receive more than the cap of £700 if firms are found to have fallen short of their obligations.
Jonathan Brearley, chief executive of Ofgem, stated that he had already spoken to network companies and they have agreed to lift the limit on compensation and make sure customers get compensation for all they have been through.
He stated that he wanted to simply establish the facts and ensure quick lessons learned. If obligations have not been fulfilled, then enforcement action will be taken.
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN), a supplier, stated that approximately 950 properties were still without electricity as of Friday at 10:05pm.
Northern Powergrid said 5,100 customers out of 240,000 that lost power were still being connected.
Western Power Distribution was still without power with 254 properties, and Electricity North West (which provides electricity for the area bordering Scotland and Stockport) reported 700 properties without power on Friday evening at 8pm.
SP Energy Networks stated that it has restored power to all customers affected by the outage.