Storm Boelo brought 84mph winds and heavy rain to parts of the UK this weekend, triggering yellow and amber weather warnings, and arrived shortly after Storm Austen brought heavy rain to many areas on Friday1. The Energy Networks Association (ENA) said on Monday morning, 26 October, that 39,000 customers were without power in Great Britain, while 785,000 households had now been reconnected1.
"The Energy Networks Association (ENA) said on Monday morning that 39,000 customers were without power in Great Britain, while 785,000 households had now been reconnected"
The ENA statement covers Great Britain. No figure for Northern Ireland has been reported1.
Compensation under the guaranteed standards
Under rules set out by Ofgem, payments depend on the storm category and the length of the interruption1. The reported rates are:
| Storm category | Payment for the first period | Further payment | Maximum for loss of supply |
|---|---|---|---|
| Category two | £90 after 48 hours without power | £45 for every additional six-hour period | £2,235 |
| Category one | £90 for the first 24 hours | £45 for every six hours after | Not stated in the report |
Eligible customers do not need to make a claim: the network operator pays automatically where it holds bank details, potentially through the energy supplier, in which case the money is added to the energy account or prepayment meter1. Where a payment is not made automatically, the report says customers should contact their network operator directly, and that a missed payment may attract an extra £401. The full rules are set out in the guide to power cut compensation and the guaranteed standards of performance.
The report also records two deaths. A man in his 20s was pronounced dead after a tree fell onto a moving car in north London on Sunday, the Metropolitan Police said, and a 60-year-old man died after being hit by a falling tree in Dumfries and Galloway at about 10.30am that day1.
Why it matters for households
For a household, the immediate question after a storm of this size is how long a supply interruption lasts and whether it crosses the threshold for an automatic payment. The reported figures show the scale of the event: 785,000 households reconnected against 39,000 still off supply on Monday morning1. The compensation bands are time-based, so the difference between a 24-hour and a 48-hour outage, and between a category one and a category two storm, changes what is owed1.
The wider point concerns energy independence during severe weather. A home that depends entirely on the distribution network has no supply until the network is restored, however quickly reconnection proceeds at scale. The options for bridging an outage, and what they cost, are set out in the comparison of backup power costs, covering power stations, UPS units, generators and batteries. The backup power hub covers the subject more broadly, and the national supply hub explains how the grid is operated and balanced. Regional guidance is available for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, the last with its own compensation arrangements. Where an outage damages appliances, the position is covered in compensation for damaged devices.
What happens next
Storm Boelo has moved away from the UK, but the Met Office issued a yellow warning for strong winds from 6pm on Monday 26 October until 3am on Tuesday 27 October, covering the west coast of England, Wales and Scotland and eastern parts of Northern Ireland, with a further yellow warning from 3am across northern parts of Scotland1. Further reconnection figures from the ENA have not been reported1.