Storm Isha brought strong winds of around 100mph in places, affecting the whole of the UK overnight and reaching a peak in the early hours of this morning (Monday 22 January 2024). Red and amber weather warnings were triggered overnight with a yellow weather warning remaining in place until lunchtime today.
As of 7pm this evening across the UK:
- 370,000 customers have been reconnected.
- 24,000 customers in some parts of Great Britain are without power, mainly in the north of England and in Scotland.
- 15,000 customers are without power in Northern Ireland.
- Around 5,000 field staff and technicians are working to fix damage and reconnect power, in addition to thousands of customer service and support staff.
- Helicopters and drones have been used to speed up damage assessments today and engineers will be working late into the evening and again from first light, when it is safe to do so, to fix the damage.
- Some customers will be without power overnight. In Northern Ireland it is likely that this will be a multi-day event.
Energy network operators are monitoring the development of Storm Jocelyn which is due to arrive tomorrow and may cause further challenges for engineers working to repair damage. A yellow wind warning is in place in some parts of the country from noon tomorrow (Tuesday 23 January) and an amber warning is in place for western and northern Scotland from tomorrow evening.
Lawrence Slade, Chief Executive of Energy Networks Association which represents the UK’s electricity network operators, said:
“Great progress has been made since Storm Isha abated today, with 370,000 customers across the country reconnected. Network operators are supporting those without power this evening by mobilising additional welfare support, including hot food and drink vans.
"Thousands of field staff and technicians have spent the day working to repair damage, clear debris and reconnect power. Conditions are always difficult in the aftermath of a storm, but we are facing another storm, Jocelyn, tomorrow and this could make things particularly challenging.
"Our aim is to reconnect everyone as quickly and safely as possible."
Customers in Great Britain can enter their postcode at PowerCut105.com to find updates from their local network operator or call 105 if they are unable to go online and need support. In Northern Ireland, customers can report a power cut and receive updates at https://powercheck.nienetworks.co.uk.
Notes to editor
Storm Jocelyn was named by Met Eireann today. According to the Met Office, "wind gusts are expected to reach 55 to 65 mph across northwestern Scotland while there is potential for winds to gust to 75 to 80 mph in a few places, in particular exposed parts of the Western Isles and coastal northwest Scotland early on Wednesday morning."
Photographs available for editorial use. Please credit Northern Ireland Electricity Networks / Aurora PA / ENA. CAPTION: Electricity technicians work to clear damage following Storm Isha. LOCATION: Glenavy Road, Lisburn, Northern Ireland. Taken on 22 January 2024.
OPERATIONAL NOTE:
- Next update to customer numbers will be provided by ENA at around 10am tomorrow (Tuesday).
About us
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.
Press contacts
You can contact ENA's press office by emailing press@energynetworks.org. For urgent or out-of-hours enquiries from journalists, please call 0204 599 7691.