Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) said it had restored power to 35,000 homes in central southern England following Storm Isha, in an update published on 22 January 20241. The storm began to track across SSEN's central southern England patch on Sunday 21 January, bringing coastal wind speeds of over 80mph and gusts reaching 70mph inland1. SSEN said restoration efforts were focused on the final few properties still without power, with work continuing into the night and resuming from first light1.
In the north of Scotland, SSEN said that as of 9.45pm on 22 January supplies had been restored to more than 36,000 homes, with just under 800 customers still off supply2. The remaining properties were spread across four districts2:
| SSEN district | Customers off supply (as of 9.45pm, 22 January) |
|---|---|
| Argyll & West Highland | 338 |
| Highlands | 148 |
| North East | 50 |
| Tayside & Central | 262 |
SSEN said it anticipated connecting all but around 600 customers by the end of that evening, and that full network restoration would not be possible for all customers that night because of fallen trees and road closures2. More than 8,500 people were contacted directly by SSE's customer contact centre during Monday 22 January2. In central southern England, over 9,000 people on the Priority Services Register were contacted to offer advice and assistance1.
Eliane Algaard, Director of Operations South, said:
"Storm Isha caused considerable disruption to our network in central southern England, and I would like to say thank you to our customers for their patience while we worked through some challenging conditions today to reconnect them, as quickly and safely as possible."
SSEN set out two separate payments. Customers without power for more than 12 hours are entitled to £30 per person for every day without power, to cover the cost of food and drink, with receipts kept and costs claimed back through SSEN1. Separately, customers without power for over 24 hours are entitled to compensation under the regulated Guaranteed Standards of Performance: £80, with a further £40 for every subsequent six-hour period off supply1. SSEN said customers do not need to contact it to request this compensation and that it would be processed as quickly as possible1. Customers on the Priority Services Register can claim reasonable costs for alternative accommodation if they are expected to be without power for over 24 hours; if a power cut is estimated to last beyond 48 hours, all customers can benefit from this support3.
Why it matters for households
A storm of this severity tests the resilience of the overhead network that most UK homes depend on, and the sequence of Isha followed immediately by Jocelyn left little recovery time. For a household, the practical effects are the length of any outage, whether medical equipment or heating depends on mains power, and whether the home has any independent source of electricity. SSEN's own figures show the scale: tens of thousands of properties reconnected within a day, but hundreds still off supply overnight in the north of Scotland2. Households on the Priority Services Register received direct contact and, where an outage was expected to run past 24 hours, support with alternative accommodation3. The compensation figures also set a benchmark for what a prolonged cut is worth in cash terms: £30 per person per day for food and drink beyond 12 hours, and £80 plus £40 per further six-hour period beyond 24 hours1. Details of how SSEN's network operates during storms, and of the support available, are set out in the site's guide to SSEN: Networks, Storms and Priority Services. Households weighing whether to hold their own reserve supply can compare options in the backup-power hub, including Backup Power by Home Type: Flats, Rural Homes and Off-Grid Properties and Backup Power Costs Compared: Power Stations, UPS, Generators and Batteries. Where a cut causes damage or loss, the process is covered in Claiming on insurance after a power cut.
What happens next
SSEN maintained a yellow alert for the north of Scotland ahead of Storm Jocelyn, which was forecast to arrive in its network area at around 6pm on 23 January, with gusts peaking at 75mph at around 1am on Wednesday 24 January and the worst of the winds passed by 9am3. SSEN said teams would be on the ground at first light to inspect and repair any damage3. In its update on 24 January, SSEN said that as of 5pm supplies had been restored to 7,000 customers following Jocelyn, with fewer than 100 properties still off supply, expected to be reconnected by the end of that evening4. A gust of 74mph was recorded in South Uist at around 10pm on 23 January4. SSEN has not reported any further restoration figures beyond those updates.