Army drafted in following County Durham power cuts
Last updated 3rd Dec 2021
Military personnel have been drafted in to help support County Durham residents affected by power cuts following Storm Arwen.
More than 100 members of the army are arriving in the county this morning and will be conducting welfare visits and offering support and reassurance to the thousands of residents still without power.
It follows a request from County Durham and Darlington Local Resilience Forum (LRF) for additional resources to strengthen and accelerate the support it is currently providing to communities in County Durham.
Earlier this week, the LRF declared a major incident. This was due to the number of properties affected, the length of time residents had been without power and the fact that the level of damage caused by the bad weather has meant that Northern Powergrid is unable to confirm when supplies will be restored.
Representatives from Durham County Council, County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service, Durham Constabulary, the Mountain Rescue Service, Northumbrian Water, NHS bodies, Northern Powergrid, the voluntary sector and other partners have been providing a range of support over the past few days.
However, without confirmation of when power supplies may be restored, Durham County Council submitted a request for Military Aid to the Civil Authority (MACA) to the Ministry of Defence on behalf of the LRF.
MACAs are used when the agencies involved in the response to an ongoing situation have exhausted all other sources of support.
John Hewitt, Chair of the LRF’s Strategic Co-ordinating Group, said: “We are doing everything we can to support residents who are affected by the disruption to power supplies, from providing emergency supplies to simply checking in to make sure everything is ok.
“We know that communities are rallying round too, with many groups opening up venues to provide hot food and drinks and individuals checking in on friends and neighbours.
“However, without a clear idea of when power will be fully restored, we have had to look at drafting in additional support to help us ensure that we can continue to carry out these vital welfare checks and provide any help that is required.
“We are very grateful to the Ministry of Defence that they have approved our request for support and that we already have troops on the ground helping our communities.”
Servicemen and women, based in St John’s Chapel, in Weardale, will carry out door-to-door visits to check on residents’ wellbeing and ensure that any help and support is provided where needed.
They will also offer information and updates on work to restore the power supply and gather feedback for LRF partners on any issues of concern and identify where additional support is required.
The MACA arrangement will be kept under review.
Anyone who is aware of an older or vulnerable person who needs help, can contact our customer services team on 03000 26 0000. This number is available 24 hours, with out of hours emergency support available through our Care Connect team.
To report a loss of power, visit www.northernpowergrid.com – a map showing updated information on current power cuts is available at https://www.northernpowergrid.com/power-cuts.
If someone is without power and is vulnerable, call 105. Additional contact numbers are available for residents with a hearing or speech impairment. Full details are available at https://www.northernpowergrid.com/contact.
A list of community venues offering support can be found at www.durham.gov.uk/stormarwensupport.