Backup Power news from 2024
18 stories, newest first
- December 2024
SSEN moves to Weather Warning status in central southern England ahead of New Year's Day
SSEN raised its preparedness to Weather Warning status in central southern England on 30 December 2024, with gusts of over 50mph inland forecast for New Year's Day and potential damage to the electricity network.
SSEN moves to Yellow Alert status in the north of Scotland
SSEN moved to Yellow Alert in the north of Scotland on 20 December 2024, ahead of weekend gusts forecast to reach 85mph, and has contacted nearly 60,000 Priority Services Register customers.
SSEN restores 82,151 customers following Storm Darragh
SSEN restored supplies to 82,151 customers in central southern England by 7pm on Sunday 8 December after Storm Darragh, with 4,140 properties still off supply and about 900 expected to run into Monday.
Storm Darragh causes widespread power cuts in NGED areas
National Grid Electricity Distribution has confirmed storm payment thresholds were exceeded across its licence areas after Storm Darragh, and has offered some affected customers a one-off goodwill payment on top of guaranteed standards payments.
- November 2024
SSEN moves to Weather Warning status ahead of Storm Bert
SSEN has moved to Weather Warning status ahead of Storm Bert, bringing in extra teams and texting 750,000 Priority Services Register customers before severe weather on 23 and 24 November.
- October 2024
SSEN moves to Weather Warning status ahead of Storm Ashley
SSEN has moved to Weather Warning status across the north of Scotland ahead of Storm Ashley, with gusts of up to 70mph forecast for Sunday 20 and Monday 21 October 2024.
Private Members' Bill on Lithium-ion Battery Safety introduced at second reading
Lord Redesdale has introduced a Private Members' Bill on lithium-ion battery safety in the House of Lords, carrying clauses proposed by Electrical Safety First, with committee stage set for 22 October.
- September 2024
BSI PAS 63100:2024 released for battery storage fire safety in dwellings
The Electrical Contractors' Association has reported the release of BSI PAS 63100:2024, a fast track specification setting good practice for fire protection of battery energy storage systems in dwellings.
Residential firmware bundle 4.21.23 released
SolarEdge has published residential firmware bundle 4.21.23, adding multi-inverter backup support, IEC63027:2023 arc-fault compliance for low-power single-phase inverters and support for up to three EV chargers per site.
- August 2024
Jackery launches E1000 v2, E240 v2 and upgraded SolarSaga 100W in the UK
Jackery has relaunched its Explorer 1000 and 240 portable power stations as the E1000 v2 and E240 v2, with an upgraded SolarSaga 100W panel, on sale in the UK from 15 August 2024.
- March 2024
UK first Powercast feature launched by UK Power Networks and ev.energy
UK Power Networks and ev.energy have launched Powercast, a free app feature that notifies electric vehicle drivers in London, the South East and East of England about power cuts affecting their charging.
- February 2024
SSEN submits £10m Storm Arwen funding application to Ofgem
SSEN Distribution has asked Ofgem for £10m of dedicated funding for five projects to improve storm response and network resilience, following the regulator's review of the response to Storm Arwen.
- January 2024
SSEN restores power to 35,000 homes after Storm Isha
SSEN restored power to 35,000 homes in central southern England after Storm Isha, as the network operator prepared for Storm Jocelyn and set out compensation for affected customers.
SSEN maintains yellow alert for north of Scotland ahead of Storm Jocelyn
SSEN keeps its yellow alert for the north of Scotland as Storm Jocelyn is forecast to bring 75mph gusts overnight, while crews finish reconnecting 370 properties left without power by Storm Isha.
SSEN moves to Weather Warning status for central southern England
SSEN Distribution moved to Weather Warning status for central southern England on 18 January 2024, warning of gusts of 55 to 60mph from Sunday night into Monday morning.
Weather warning for central southern England with damaging winds forecast
SSEN activated contingency plans and added teams ahead of gusts forecast above 55mph inland and 60mph on coasts and high ground across central southern England on 2 January 2024.
Government withdrawal notice issued for UPP e-bike battery
A Government withdrawal notice issued in January 2024 told Amazon, eBay and Alibaba that UPP e-bike batteries U004 and U004-1 pose a serious risk of fire, and listings have since been found on Facebook Marketplace.
Water company PSR registrations after this date flow to energy networks and suppliers
From 1 January 2024, households that join a water company's Priority Services Register have their details passed automatically to energy networks and suppliers, removing the need for a second registration.