Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) announced on 3 February 2022 that it had restored all reported customer faults following Storms Malik and Corrie, after reconnecting over 120,000 homes in the north of Scotland1.
The two storms brought gusts of over 90mph to the region and caused more than 450 high voltage network faults, which SSEN attributed to fallen trees and wind-borne debris striking overhead power lines. The company said the intensity of the gusts, stronger than Storm Arwen in some locations, caused multiple damages to its infrastructure and required complex repairs1.
Storm Malik caused significant damage to the network in North East Scotland, particularly Ballater, Braemar, Tarland, Kintore and Banchory in Aberdeenshire. Storm Corrie, described by SSEN as more widespread across the north, hit Stonehaven and Edzell worst, with record wind speeds recorded1.
SSEN said it received over 46,000 calls to its customer contact centre and over 13,000 messages on its social media channels. It asked any customer still without power who had not already reported it by phone or through its Power Track app to call 105, so that it had visibility of all interruptions and network damage at a local level1.
"I would like to thank our communities for their continued patience as our teams have worked hard to restore power in challenging circumstances. Coming just weeks after the extensive damage caused by Storm Arwen, the dual impact of Storms Malik and Corrie posed a significant and unique challenge, with often complex repairs being undertaken while battling conditions and balancing priorities."
The company said it had made over 54,000 proactive contacts to warn customers on its Priority Services Register in advance of the storm, and that its contact centre continued to contact registered customers to offer extra support. Eligibility for the free priority services covers households with a disability or chronic illness, those who are deaf or hard of hearing, blind or partially sighted, over 60, living with children under five, using medical equipment reliant on electricity, or temporarily needing extra support1.
Why it matters for households
A storm restoration figure of this size reflects how exposed overhead networks in the north of Scotland are to wind, and how long a single event can leave a home without power. For a household, the practical effect of a multi-day outage runs through heating, cooking, refrigeration, phone charging and any medical equipment that depends on mains electricity. SSEN's Priority Services Register exists for the households where that dependence is greatest, and the 54,000 advance contacts reported here show the register being used before the storm rather than after it.
The scale of the event also matters for how supply security is understood at home. More than 450 high voltage faults on one network in a single fortnight is a reminder that resilience is largely a matter of network repair capacity and local knowledge of who is off supply, not of anything a household controls. Households on the SSEN distribution area sit alongside those served by other network operators such as SP Energy Networks and Electricity North West, each with their own fault reporting routes. Reporting an outage, rather than assuming it is known, is what gives an operator a complete picture of damage at local level.
What happens next
SSEN said its concentration and alert status remained the same for the time being, with teams focusing on repairing network damage needed for system resilience but not affecting customer supplies. It said it would continue to deploy an enhanced workforce in North East Scotland ready to carry out further repairs and maintenance of mobile generators, and that teams would carry out remedial repairs and identify any further damage on its localised network1. No end date for that work has been reported.