Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) said it had returned to business as usual across its central southern England network on 13 March 2023, after high winds brought gusts of up to 55mph in places1.
The company said its engineers worked throughout the day to restore power to around 8,500 customers affected inland and across coastal regions, and would continue through the evening for the handful of customers still off supply1. SSEN said it had set out additional resources in areas it expected to be worst affected before the weather arrived1.
Eliane Algaard, SSEN's Director of Customer Operations, said:
"We enacted our well-established resilience plans in response to a forecast of unsettled conditions and I would like to thank our customers for their patience as our engineers worked quickly and safely to restore their power in challenging conditions."
The company also pointed customers to its Priority Services Register, a free scheme for households needing extra help during a power cut. SSEN lists the following as eligible1:
| Eligibility for SSEN priority services |
|---|
| Deaf or hard of hearing |
| Have a disability |
| Live with children under five |
| Blind or partially sighted |
| Have a chronic illness |
| Use medical equipment or aids reliant on electricity |
| Are over 60 |
SSEN gave the register's phone number as 0800 294 3259, and reminded customers they can save the emergency power cut number, 105, to report a loss of supply or damage to the network1. The company also said customers can follow restoration times through its Power Track website and app, and updates on its social media channels1.
Why it matters for households
A power cut is the point at which a home's energy independence is tested, because everything that depends on mains electricity stops at once: heating controls, refrigeration, broadband, and any medical equipment plugged in at the wall. The SSEN event shows the shape of a typical storm response. The network operator restores the large majority of properties within the day, and a small number of households wait longer, often because of localised damage rather than a shortage of generation.
For a household, the practical questions are who to contact and what support exists. The 105 number connects callers to their network operator, the body responsible for the wires rather than the supplier that bills them, as set out in our guide to who fixes a power cut. The Priority Services Register is the main route to advance notice and extra help for those who qualify, and is covered in our page on network operator support schemes. SSEN's own network, storm and priority services arrangements are set out in our SSEN distribution guide.
Households that want power to continue through an outage generally look at backup power options, from small battery units to generators, with the trade-offs set out in our comparison of backup power costs. Where an outage causes spoilage or damage, insurance claims after a power cut follow their own rules. Wider questions about the resilience of supply sit under national supply.
What happens next
SSEN said work would continue through the evening of 13 March 2023 to restore the remaining customers1. No further dates or timescales beyond that evening have been reported.