SSEN Distribution announced on 12 March 2025 a £560k investment in its electricity network in north west Skye. The project will begin on Friday 14 March and run through to mid-April, replacing over 100 wooden poles and installing new overhead lines between Uig and Dunvegan1.
The company said the work will improve the reliability of electricity supplies to nearly 1,000 homes and businesses, and will make the local network infrastructure stronger and better able to withstand the gale-force winds that are part and parcel of a typical winter on Skye1. Teams from SSEN Distribution's principal contractor, Aureos, will carry out the work over the month-long project1.
Power will be turned off where teams are working on a particular day, for the safety of customers and the crews. SSEN said it has sent letters to every address affected, giving up to 30 days' notice1. While the power is off, the company will also carry out further repairs and maintenance on parts of the local network that would otherwise require a separate outage at a later date1.
"We'd like to thank our customers for their patience and understanding as teams go about this essential project, work which will make the network stronger for nearly 1,000 homes and businesses across North West Skye. We appreciate that when we turn off the power it may cause inconvenience for some customers, but I'd like to reassure everyone that our teams will be doing all they can to keep disruption to a minimum, and if we can get works completed ahead of schedule on any given day, this may allow us to turn the power back on earlier than advertised."
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Investment | £560k |
| Start date | Friday 14 March 2025 |
| Completion | Mid-April 2025 |
| Area | Uig to Dunvegan, north west Skye |
| Works | Over 100 wooden poles replaced; new overhead lines |
| Contractor | Aureos |
| Households and businesses affected | Nearly 1,000 |
Why it matters for households
Overhead lines on exposed routes are the part of the network most likely to be damaged in high winds, and the failure of a single pole can cut supply to every property downstream of it. Replacing poles and lines on this stretch is intended to reduce how often that happens for the homes and businesses between Uig and Dunvegan1. For a household, fewer faults mean fewer unplanned outages and less reliance on torches, candles or a standby generator when the weather turns.
Planned outages are a different matter from faults. They are scheduled, notified in advance by letter, and normally shorter than the repair time after storm damage, but they still leave a property without mains power for the working day. Households that depend on electricity for heating, hot water, medical equipment or broadband will notice the difference between a planned and an unplanned loss of supply, even though the cause is maintenance rather than damage1.
The work is being done by SSEN Distribution, the company that owns and operates the network in this part of Scotland. Which company serves a given address depends on where it is; the who is my distribution network operator? guide explains how to check. SSEN's own arrangements for storms and for customers who need extra help are set out in the SSEN: networks, storms and priority services guide, and the wider picture of how supply reaches a home is covered in the national supply section. Safety around the equipment itself is covered in the guide to precautions near overhead power lines.
What happens next
Work starts on Friday 14 March and runs through to mid-April1. Affected addresses have been sent letters giving up to 30 days' notice of the days when power will be off1. SSEN said that if works are completed ahead of schedule on any given day, power may be restored earlier than advertised1. No further dates beyond mid-April have been reported.