Press Releases

WISHART MEETS SSEN TEAMS FOLLOWING STORMS    

News release - 10th December 2021 - For Immediate release 

WISHART MEETS SSEN TEAMS FOLLOWING STORMS    

Pete Wishart, MP for Perth and North Perthshire met teams from SSEN Distribution and visited the electricity network Control Room in Perth to discuss the impact of Storm Arwen and to hear about the network operator’s response to the once-in-a-generation weather event.

According to SSEN, Storm Arwen caused over five times more faults across the network area than any other storm on record, with winds speeds of over 90mph battering the north-east of Scotland, resulting in sustained power outages for communities in parts of Perthshire.

SSEN’s customer contact centre received record call volumes and over 850 engineers were rapidly deployed across the network in challenging conditions to repair the damage and restore power to the 135,000 affected customers.

Commenting, Mr Wishart said: 

“While I am pleased that Perth and North Perthshire missed the worst of Storm Barra, having two storms in such quick succession, with Storm Arwen causing catastrophic damage, raises serious questions about the resilience of our power system. 

“I spoke to SSEN officials in Perth to get an update on the situation following the storm. I also sought reassurance that resilience measures are being implemented to protect communities from future storms and was pleased to hear SSEN will invest an additional £500,000 in its Resilient Communities Fund.”

“I was reassured that SSEN are conducting a robust review of events and are exploring all avenues to help mitigate the impacts of events of this nature in future.

“I would like to thank the SSEN teams who have worked around the clock to repair the damages, and to the Perthshire community for rallying round the worst affected residents.” 

• Energy