Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) Distribution moved to Weather Warning status in central southern England on 18 January 2024, ahead of severe weather forecast for Sunday night, 21 January, and into the early hours of Monday morning1.
The network operator said its weather model showed a low-pressure system expected to bring high winds, with gusts of between 55 and 60mph expected across much of central southern England1. The same weather system was also forecast to hit SSEN's north of Scotland distribution area, which the company said it was monitoring closely1.
SSEN said it was activating contingency plans and bringing in additional teams to deal with damage to the network and any resulting faults that could interrupt supplies1.
"We are now activating our well-rehearsed contingency plans and bringing in additional teams to deal with any damage to the network and subsequent faults, which may interrupt customers' power supplies."
The company said customers could report loss of supply or damage to the network on the emergency power cut number, 105, and could track faults and restoration times on its Power Track map1. It also said customers are eligible for its Priority Services Register (PSR) if they are deaf or hard of hearing, have a disability, live with children under five, are blind or partially sighted, have a chronic illness, use medical equipment or aids reliant on electricity, or are over 601. SSEN said all its priority services are free, and gave 0800 294 3259 as the number for finding out more about the PSR1.
A later SSEN notice, published on 23 January 2024, said the network was again moving to Weather Warning status in central southern England ahead of high winds forecast for Tuesday night from 9pm into the early hours of Wednesday morning as a result of Storm Jocelyn2. It said teams were remaining in place following restoration efforts from Storm Isha2. The two notices give different wind figures for the two separate events; neither source reports the number of customers affected by either period of weather.
Why it matters for households
A Weather Warning status is a network operator's signal that overhead lines and other equipment in a region may be damaged, and that supplies to homes could be interrupted. For a household, the practical exposure is the loss of mains power for an unknown period, which affects heating controls, refrigeration, lighting, broadband and any medical equipment that runs on electricity. Homes that depend on electricity for heating or for medical aids carry the greatest risk during an outage, which is the group the Priority Services Register is designed to identify in advance1.
The notices also point to the limits of what a household can control. Restoration times depend on the extent of damage to the network, and SSEN said it would issue further updates depending on the forecast1. Households that hold their own backup power can keep selected circuits running while faults are repaired, though the notices do not set out how long any individual outage might last. The wider picture of how storms affect supplies, and how networks respond, sits within national supply, and SSEN's own arrangements are set out in the guide to SSEN Distribution.
What happens next
SSEN said it would continue to monitor the first storm closely as it developed and would issue further updates depending on the forecast1. Its 23 January notice said it would continue to monitor Storm Jocelyn closely and issue further updates as required2. Neither notice states how many customers, if any, lost supply, or when normal status was resumed.