Thousands of homes across Wiltshire have been without power for several days following two of the most severe storms to hit the South West of England in more than 30 years.

Teams of engineers from Scottish & Southern Electricity Network have been working flat out overnight and from first light this morning to restore power in the aftermath of Storm Dudley and Storm Eunice.

Hundreds of homes in several parts of Wiltshire have been without electricity for four days since Friday, with engineers hoping to restore power by 11pm this evening (February 21) or by 11pm tomorrow.

Power to thousands of homes was knocked out as falling trees affected power lines and poles and damaged overhead lines.

Richard Gough, director of distribution system operations, said: “The hurricane-force winds of Storm Eunice have resulted in some of the most extreme and challenging conditions experienced in the south of England for decades, with significant impact on our overhead line network.

“I would like to apologise to our customers for the continued disruption as our teams work around the clock to restore power.

“I’d also like to recognise our teams in the field and in our control and customer centres, who are doing a brilliant job in very difficult conditions and stand ready to respond to the impact of Storm Franklin, while prioritising restoring customers who have been without power longest.

“We fully appreciate the issues being faced by customers who have been without power since the start of Storm Eunice and as our teams work hard to reconnect the remaining homes, we are actively encouraging all customers who we expect to remain off supply for an extended period to take advantage of our enhanced welfare offer.”

Mr Gough said that conditions “remain challenging” with the arrival of Storm Franklin causing sustained high winds, particularly across the coast.

“This has led to new faults, access issues due to fallen trees and multiple points of damage on our overhead lines, which has extended repair times.

“As of 12pm, we have restored power to around 180,000 homes leaving around 4,400 homes without power.”

He added: “Recognising the ongoing impact, we have offered enhanced welfare for customers who have been affected by Storm Eunice.

“This includes reimbursement of accommodation costs where customers cannot make alternative arrangements themselves.”

SSEN has installed welfare units in some areas, including Froxfield and Tetbury, to provide hot food and drinks to the worst-affected customers.

The company has also encouraged customers concerned about an extended power cut to make alternative arrangements to stay with family or friends but recognise this may not be an option for all.

“Where this is the case and a customer has been without power since Friday and their estimated time of restoration is later than Sunday evening, we are offering to reimburse all reasonable costs for arranging alternative accommodation,” Mr Gough said.

Welfare vans in communities most affected by Storm Eunice offering free hot food, drinks and charging facilities at the following locations, will open at 8am until 5pm on Monday 21 February, including Froxfield Village Green, GU32 1DH and New Church Street, Tetbury, GL8 8DS.

“Similarly, for these customers who have been without power since Friday, if you do not live in proximity to these vans or need to remain in your home due to circumstances such as mobility or Covid-19, we are offering to reimburse reasonable costs for a meal or takeaway, up to the value of £15 per person and up to a maximum of £60 per household,” he added.

Customers eligible for reimbursement should book the accommodation and meals directly and retain all receipts which should then be sent to SSEN for reimbursement via the following link - https://tinyurl.com/EuniceClaim. All claims will be processed for reimbursement promptly once full restoration has taken place.

Separate to the enhanced welfare offering above, some customers will be eligible for £70 compensation under Guaranteed Standards if they have been without power for over 48 hours.

A further £70 will be due for each additional period of 12 hours in which supply is not restored, up to a cap of £700.

Mr Gough said: “Customers do not need to contact SSEN to receive this compensation. We will automatically issue this by cheque to the address that was impacted by the storms based on the data we hold. We will send a letter to addresses where this information is incomplete.”

Affected postcode areas include:

  • BA2 Limpley Stoke
  • BA11 Corseley Heath
  • BA13 Chapmanslade, Dilton Marsh, Edington
  • BA12 Mere, Stourton, Sutton Veny, Warminster, West Knoyle, Zeals
  • BA14 Southwick
  • BA15 Bradford on Avon
  • SN6 Marston Meysey
  • SN8 Great Bedwyn, Bedwyn, Marlborough, Ogbourne St Andrew, Collingbourne Kingston
  • SN9 Bottlesford, Manningford Bohune
  • SN10 – Devizes, Wedhampton, Caen Hill
  • SN12 Bowerhill
  • SN14 Ford, West Yatton
  • SN15 Chippenham
  • SN16 Charlton, Oaksey