Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) said that as of 10am on 18 February 2023 electricity supplies had been restored to over 41,000 properties, with around 2,500 properties still off supply1. The areas still affected were mainly concentrated in Aberdeenshire, including parts of Oyne, Banff, Methlick, Insch, Turriff, Belhelvie, Kennethmont, Gartly, Wardhouse, Huntly, Ellon, Glenmuick and Fyvie1. A further 150 field and support staff were joining teams during the day, bringing the total number of staff responding to Storm Otto to 7501.
The picture changed through the day. By 4.30pm SSEN reported over 42,000 properties restored and around 1,300 off supply2, and by 8pm over 43,000 restored with fewer than 500 off supply and 200 customers expected to remain off overnight, mainly single premises or small clusters in rural Aberdeenshire3. On the morning of 19 February SSEN said over 43,000 properties had been restored and fewer than 100 remained off supply, with all of those expected to be reconnected by 6pm that evening at the latest4. A final update said power had been restored to 43,000 homes, over 95% of which were reconnected within 24 hours, after teams responded to over 200 high voltage faults; the main areas affected were the North East, particularly Aberdeenshire and Moray5. Sustained wind speeds exceeded 70mph with storm-force gusts of 85mph across the north east5.
SSEN contacted over 130,000 customers on its Priority Services Register and continued to call those in the highest categories of vulnerability1. Mobile food vans served food and drinks at locations including Cruden Bay, Huntly, Aberchirder, Hatton, Insch, Mintlaw, Maud and Kennethmont1. Mark Rough, Operations Director at SSEN Distribution, said:
"Our teams have made further progress late last night and early this morning restoring the remaining customers still off supply following the impacts of Storm Otto."
Welfare and compensation terms were set out across the updates. Any customer off supply for longer than 12 hours was entitled to claim up to £30 for food per day, with receipts to be kept1. Customers on the Priority Services Register who faced a second night off supply were offered reimbursement for alternative accommodation1. For interruptions over 48 hours, customers receive £70, with a further £70 for every subsequent 12-hour period off supply, paid automatically under the regulated Guaranteed Standards of Performance without the customer needing to contact SSEN3. SSEN later described the food entitlement as £30 per person for every day without power, and hotel accommodation reimbursement for Priority Services Register customers after their first night without power, with claims submitted at ssen.co.uk/otto and paid by cheque5.
| Measure | Terms as reported |
|---|---|
| Food and drink | Up to £30 per person per day after 12 hours off supply1 |
| Accommodation | Reimbursement for Priority Services Register customers after a first night off supply1 |
| Guaranteed Standards compensation | £70 for interruptions over 48 hours, plus £70 per further 12 hours, paid automatically3 |
Why it matters for households
A storm of this kind tests a home's energy independence in the most direct way: the electricity simply stops, and everything downstream of the meter stops with it. The SSEN updates show the practical shape of that dependence. Restoration was measured in properties, not streets, and the last customers were single premises and small rural clusters where a localised fault can persist long after the main network is back3. For a household, that means the difference between a few hours and several days often comes down to location rather than anything the occupant controls.
The welfare terms also show where formal support exists. The Priority Services Register is the mechanism SSEN used to identify and contact customers needing extra help, and eligibility covers people over 60, those with a disability or chronic illness, households with children under five, and those using electricity-dependent medical equipment1. Households in Northern Ireland have a separate arrangement through the Customer Care Register. For anyone weighing how to keep essentials running during an outage, the backup power hub sets out the options, and the national supply hub covers how the networks are organised. SSEN's own distribution area is described in SSEN: Networks, Storms and Priority Services.
What happens next
SSEN said its focus had turned to repairing remedial damage, with teams continuing work on the network in the coming days to restore it to full operation, and that any planned interruptions would be notified in advance5. Compensation under the Guaranteed Standards of Performance will be processed automatically in the weeks after the event, with direct communication to follow3. Customers still off supply were asked to call 105, as the fault may be very localised or an issue with the internal electrical supply5.
Sources5 cited
- Storm Otto – 10am update - SSEN, ssen.co.uk
- Storm Otto – 4.30pm update - SSEN, ssen.co.uk
- Storm Otto – 8pm update - SSEN, ssen.co.uk
- Storm Otto – 9am update - SSEN, ssen.co.uk
- Final homes now restored following impact of Storm Otto - SSEN, ssen.co.uk