Good morning

This morning, in response to the latest weather forecast, Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks has moved to Yellow Alert status ahead of Storm Ciarán. It is due to hit central southern England overnight on Wednesday and continue into Thursday, leading to several hours of strong winds, heavy rain and a risk of localised flooding. At this time, SSEN would like to reassure its customers and partners that it is well prepared for this period of bad weather.

The decision to move to Yellow Alert status comes as a result of the increasing certainty about the storm’s duration and route, and the potential it has to cause damage to the electricity network.

SSEN has been monitoring this weather system for several days, and is now activating its well-rehearsed contingency plans, bringing in additional teams to deal with any damage to the network and subsequent faults, which may impact customers’ power supplies.

These additional teams, aided by colleagues from SSEN’s north of Scotland distribution area and contractor partners, will respond to faults and carry out repairs quickly and safely. Teams answering customers’ queries over the phone are being bolstered, and SSEN is already calling its most vulnerable customers to offer them help and advice. In total, more than 250,000 customers who are on the Priority Service Register will be contacted ahead of the storm. SSEN is also organising for welfare provisions to be put in place for affected areas.

SSEN’s latest weather model shows a likelihood of southerly and south-westerly gusts of up to 70mph along the Hampshire and Sussex coast overnight on Wednesday and throughout the day on Thursday, with inland gusts of up to 60mph in Dorset. Gusts in excess of 50mph are possible in Berkshire, Wiltshire and Oxfordshire. The winds will be accompanied by persistent, heavy rain.

SSEN will continue to monitor this storm closely as it develops and issue regular updates.

Customers are encouraged to be prepared for the possibility of disruption to supplies by:

· Saving the emergency power cut number - '105' - to your phone to report any loss of supply or damage to the electricity network

· Visiting SSEN's Power Track Website to give you details of power cuts and restoration times. You can also report power cuts and network damage through the Power Track app

· Going to SSEN's website where there is a wealth of advice and information on how to deal with a power cut, or to chat live to one of SSEN's advisors via its Webchat service

Customers are also eligible for SSEN's 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

Can we ask that you share these important messages with members of your communities to allow them to prepare for any potential disruption of supply.

We are coordinating through the local resilience forums to further assist preparations and we will continue to keep you updated on our activities relating to the impacts of Storm Ciarán. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us directly at [email protected]

Fiona Morrissey

Engagement Delivery Manager, SSEN