Major Incident declared in Dyfed and Powys during Storm Darragh

A major incident was declared in the Dyfed and Powys area on 7 December 2024 during Storm Darragh, after a 132kV fault caused widespread loss of supply to key services. SP Energy Networks (SPEN), which operates the electricity distribution network in Merseyside and North Wales, reported that the Dyfed and Powys Tactical Coordination Group escalated to a Strategic Coordination Group at approximately 10:00hrs that day because of the declaration¹.

Storm Darragh began on 6 December, with recorded wind speeds peaking at 93mph. Across the SP Manweb area, 181,059 customers were affected, the majority in Wales, with the worst hit areas being Mid Wales, North Wales and Dee Valley¹. SPEN said 89% of customers were restored within 24 hours and 95% within 48 hours. Falling trees and branches caused 85% to 90% of the damage, predominantly softwood trees and forestry plantations¹.

SPEN contacted 68,000 customers in advance and sent 200,000 SMS and voice messages in the most affected areas. It took about 77,000 calls in total, about 65,000 of them for SP Manweb, prioritising vulnerable customers on the Priority Services Register (PSR)¹. It deployed 894 staff in total to restore the network, including resources from Scotland, other distribution network operators including SSE, and support from Ireland¹. Emergency action centres stayed open 18 hours a day, with staff staying overnight to prepare for the following day¹.

On Friday 13 December, SPEN began processing compensation payments. The company said it pays compensation proactively, so customers do not need to claim or contact it to receive what they are eligible for. Of 9,500 eligible customers, 8,000 had been paid at the time of its evidence, with the remaining 1,500 being unmanned sites or requiring additional information¹.

Why it matters for households

The declaration followed the loss of supply to key services, not only to homes, and came as SPEN was already working through widespread faults across Mid Wales, North Wales and Dee Valley¹. Households on the Priority Services Register were prioritised in call queues, and SPEN made outbound calls to customers who were medically dependent to check on their welfare, escalating a small number of cases to the Red Cross and Local Resilience Forum partners¹. SPEN states that customers can join the register if they are over 60, have a special communication need, depend on electricity for home or medical care, have a child under five, have a chronic illness, or feel they need extra help, and that people can also join for a short period, for example while recovering from an operation, during pregnancy or after a bereavement¹. SPEN says it has reached 96% of eligible customers against census data, with 1.3 million households on its register across the company¹.

Rest centres were opened with Local Resilience Forums to provide a warm space, showers, hot water, food and drinks, and hot food was provided through vouchers, orders or directions to food vans and cafes¹. SPEN said many rural and hard to reach areas were affected, and that flooding of highways, fallen trees and submerged network equipment slowed access to some sites¹. The storms and electricity network guide sets out how such events affect supply, and the guide to what a major incident declaration means explains the coordination arrangements behind it.

What happens next

SPEN said it was continuing to collect information for the remaining 1,500 eligible compensation cases, which are unmanned sites or need further details from customers¹. Its evidence also notes that field communication was challenging because many affected areas had poor 4G coverage; the text of the document ends at that point, and the rest of that section has not been reported¹.