Lawrence Slade, Chief Executive, Energy Networks Association, which represents the UK’s energy network operators, said:
“ Storm Arwen caused catastrophic damage and disruption to customers, which network operators immediately recognised by voluntarily lifting the cap on compensation following the storm. Today’s formal recognition that compensation should be higher reflects the disruption and inconvenience customers experience.
"Network operators continue to work hard with the regulator and government to make processes like claiming compensation more straight forward and fully implementing recommendations to enhance our customer services during extreme weather events. Network operators have also identified areas which will need increased investment to provide better energy security and service for customers in the long term. This is particularly important as severe weather events unfortunately become more frequent.
"We continue to apply lessons from Storm Arwen to ensure the UK’s energy networks are ready to respond to severe weather events and support customers in the most effective way possible. ”
Notes to editor
- The increased investment will go towards measures such as tree cutting, flood prevention and other energy security measures designed to improve the resilience of Britain’s 800,000km of overhead and underground power lines in the face of more severe weather events in future
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Energy Networks Association (ENA) is the industry body representing the energy networks. Our members include every major electricity network operator in the UK. The electricity networks are at the heart of the energy transition. They directly employ more than 26,000 people in the UK, including 1,500 apprentices. They are spending and investing £33bn in our electricity grids over the coming years, to ensure safe, reliable and secure energy supplies for the millions of homes and businesses reliant on power every day.
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