Families in the Trossachs facing 4th day of Storm Arwen power cuts
Efforts continue to restore power across Scotland
Three primary schools in the Trossachs are being used as emergency rest centres as communities face a fourth day of power cuts in the wake of Storm Arwen on Friday.
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks, which supplie parts of Stirlingshire, says its teams remain at red alert status as it works to reconnect 32,000 customers.
Rest centres are open and serving breakfast at:
- Strathyre Primary School
- Aberfoyle Primary School
- Doune Primary School
- Fintry, Knockraich Farm
The farm in Fintry is also the location of one of the welfare units brought in by SSEN to provide hot food and drink to people in remote areas.
Storm Arwen worse than 'Beast from the east'
Mark Rough, Director of Customer Operations at SSEN, said:
“Storm Arwen has resulted in some of the most significant and challenging conditions experienced the North of Scotland in decades, resulting in catastrophic damage to several overhead circuits with multiple instances of damage which need to be repaired before power can be restored.
“The damage caused by Storm Arwen is at least three times greater than we experienced from the Beast from the East storm in 2018, demonstrating the scale of challenge our teams have faced.
“We continue to make good progress carrying our repairs and restoring power and would once again like to thank our customers for their continued patience and understanding in what continues to be very challenging circumstances
"The extent of damage means the repair work needed is complex and often requires lengthy clearance of access just to reach the problem areas, with substantial tree cutting and re-erection of overhead network infrastructure.”
SSEN says it will provide a breakdown of expected restoration times for areas which are still power today.
Support is being prioritised for the most vulnerable Priority Services Register customers, such as those dependent on medical equipment, and 4X4 vehicles are being used to deliver hot food and drinks to customers on the list in some of the more remote and isolated communities:
"I've been really worried about getting hypothermia"
Tyn Ord's isn't expecting to be switched back on in Aberdeen until tonight and told Clyde 1 News: "I've been really worried about getting hypothermia. I know it sounds like I'm being dramatic, but I'm not. I don't ever want to feel this cold again.
"Even when they are sending us messages about when power is going to come on it's not really specific. What particular areas are affected so we know if we need to book hotels or find somewhere we can stay?"