Latest news with #NorthernScotland
BBC News
08-08-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Power restored to all homes cut off by Storm Floris
The last of the homes in northern Scotland left without power due to Storm Floris have had their energy supplies gusts of up to 90mph caused widespread disruption on Monday, leading to cancelled trains, flights and road and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) said it had restored power to almost 72,000 households, with about 950 still cut off on Wednesday. The firm said its repairs, hindered by fallen trees and considerable damage to overhead lines, had now been completed. SSEN said customers without power for more than 12 hours were entitled to £30 per person for every day off supply, to cover the cost of food and drink. Those eligible have been told to keep their receipts and claim costs back via the SSEN without power for more than 48 continuous hours are entitled to an initial payment of £85 and a further £45 for each continuous six-hour period that they did not have power payments are issued automatically as cheques. Those eligible do not need to make a claim or contact SSEN, the firm said. 'Exceptional' storm Andy Smith, SSEN distribution's director of customer operations for the north of Scotland, said: "Floris was an exceptional storm, which has called for an exceptional response from us. "One thousand people have been working hard to reconnect homes and support customers, while a huge volume of network reconstruction has been done in challenging conditions."He thanked customers for their "patience and understanding", adding: "Now supplies have been restored, I encourage those who lost power to take a look at the details of compensation that will be provided, and also to make a claim for reimbursement if they qualify."
The Independent
06-08-2025
- Climate
- The Independent
Thousands spend second night without power after Storm Floris
Thousands of customers have spent a second night without power after Storm Floris swept in on Monday. Tens of thousands of people were left without power after high winds earlier in the week, which reached speeds of up to 90mph. Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks Distribution said that as of 8.30am on Wednesday, 68,000 customers have been reconnected. Work continues to reconnect a further 3,900 customers who are still without power. The company said that hundreds of engineers have been out on the network since first light on Wednesday morning working to reconnect homes. It said that 95% of customers who lost supplies due to Storm Floris have been reconnected. Andy Smith, SSEN's director of customer operations for the north of Scotland, said late on Tuesday: 'Storm Floris has been unusually powerful, especially for a storm at this time of year. 'It's brought down many trees that have endured several previous storms, and it's caused some network damage.' He added: 'I'd like to thank our customers for their understanding and patience while we go about this massive task; we're doing our best to give people realistic, informed estimates of when we'll get their power back on. 'I'm also grateful to the teams from our contract partners and other network operators for supporting our effort.' An amber weather warning was in place for an area stretching from the central belt to northern Scotland for much of the day on Monday while the rest of the country was covered by a yellow weather warning. The storm also caused significant disruption to Scotland's rail network. Network Rail said teams have been working 'tirelessly' to repair damage to infrastructure such as overhead lines and to clear fallen trees and debris from the tracks. The storm also led to delays in exam results being delivered to pupils in some island communities on SQA results day on Tuesday.
Yahoo
06-08-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Thousands spend second night without power after Storm Floris
Thousands of customers have spent a second night without power after Storm Floris swept in on Monday. Tens of thousands of people were left without power after high winds earlier in the week, which reached speeds of up to 90mph. Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks Distribution said that as of 8.30am on Wednesday, 68,000 customers have been reconnected. Work continues to reconnect a further 3,900 customers who are still without power. The company said that hundreds of engineers have been out on the network since first light on Wednesday morning working to reconnect homes. It said that 95% of customers who lost supplies due to Storm Floris have been reconnected. Andy Smith, SSEN's director of customer operations for the north of Scotland, said late on Tuesday: 'Storm Floris has been unusually powerful, especially for a storm at this time of year. 'It's brought down many trees that have endured several previous storms, and it's caused some network damage.' He added: 'I'd like to thank our customers for their understanding and patience while we go about this massive task; we're doing our best to give people realistic, informed estimates of when we'll get their power back on. 'I'm also grateful to the teams from our contract partners and other network operators for supporting our effort.' An amber weather warning was in place for an area stretching from the central belt to northern Scotland for much of the day on Monday while the rest of the country was covered by a yellow weather warning. The storm also caused significant disruption to Scotland's rail network. Network Rail said teams have been working 'tirelessly' to repair damage to infrastructure such as overhead lines and to clear fallen trees and debris from the tracks. The storm also led to delays in exam results being delivered to pupils in some island communities on SQA results day on Tuesday.
The Independent
05-08-2025
- Climate
- The Independent
Storm Floris: All the rail, sea and air disruption as dozens of services cancelled
Tens of thousands of frustrated UK travellers have woken on Tuesday morning where they did not intend to be, after Storm Floris triggered transport chaos for trains, flights and ferries. Northern Scotland is particularly hard hit. Network Rail Scotland said in a post on X (formerly Twitter): 'We've dealt with hundreds of fallen trees overnight, with our response and maintenance working in teams to cover as much ground as possible. 'We have now reopened 30 of our 34 routes, with work continuing on the remaining four below. 'Our control room team continue to coordinate the response on the lines which remain closed.' Network Rail Scotland has sent a train carrying engineers from Perth to Inverness to clear fallen trees along the route. No trains have arrived at, or departed from, Inverness on Tuesday. The daily Highland Chieftain service on LNER to London is cancelled along with many ScotRail trains – though a rail replacement bus has departed for Edinburgh. Other services from Inverness to Glasgow, Wick, Kyle of Lochalsh and Aberdeen are also cancelled. A single train to Edinburgh is currently shown as running at 12.48pm, with another in the afternoon to Glasgow at 3.44pm. In a statement, ScotRail said: 'Storm Floris is continuing to have a significant impact on Scotland's railway, including damage to overhead lines and trees falling on tracks across the country. 'With winds of up to 90mph in some parts of the country, a significant clear-up job will be required to inspect lines and carry out repair work before it is safe to restore a full service.' English train operators are also affected. LNER says trains north of Newcastle are subject to delay or short-notice cancellation. Tickets for trains that did not run on Monday can be used on Tuesday or Wednesday. Half the Caledonian MacBrayne ferry routes in western Scotland are still affected by Storm Floris. Sailings between Oban, Colonsay and Islay are cancelled for the day. On many other links passengers are warned by the ferry operator: 'Due to forecast adverse weather, sailings will be liable to disruption or cancellation at short notice.' Many thousands of passengers experienced flight cancellations, diversions and turnbacks on Monday, with Aberdeen airport particularly badly affected. Three planes – two on British Airways from London Heathrow and one on KLM from Amsterdam – flew to Aberdeen, tried to land but returned to their starting points because the winds were too strong. As a result, on Tuesday morning the first BA flight from Aberdeen to Heathrow and the KLM service to Amsterdam were both cancelled. A Ryanair flight from Faro in Portugal to Aberdeen spent over half-an-hour in a holding pattern hoping to land at the northeast Scotland airport, but finally diverted to Prestwick in the southwest of the country. Loganair, Scotland's airline, is telling passengers booked on Tuesday: 'You can choose to re-book on an alternative flight up to seven days from your original travel date. 'There will be no change fee or difference in fare payable. If a seat is available on an alternative flight, you can transfer your booking to that flight without charge on a first-come, first-served basis.'
