Power Cut 105 line fault reported during Storm Darragh

Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) reported on the evening of 7 December 2024 that the Power Cut 105 telephone line, which routes callers to their own electricity network operator, was not connecting all of them correctly during Storm Darragh. SSEN said the Energy Networks Association, which manages the service on behalf of electricity networks, was urgently investigating¹.

As of 8:30pm that evening, SSEN said supplies had been restored to 47,000 customers in central southern England, with work ongoing to reconnect a further 19,000 homes and businesses in the region¹. The operator said it had bolstered its usual weekend staffing levels ten-fold, with hundreds of extra team members, and that its customer contact centre team had spoken to more than 25,000 Priority Service Register customers¹.

SSEN described Storm Darragh as "by far the worst storm of this winter so far", with gusts of 75 mph recorded in Portland, 71 mph in Yeovil, 64 mph on the Isle of Wight and 61 mph in Odiham¹. A Met Office Yellow Warning was due to remain in place for central southern England until 6:00pm on Sunday evening, and SSEN's own forecasters expected sustained wind speeds above 50 mph to persist overnight and through Sunday¹. The operator said some roads were blocked by fallen trees and that wind speeds were at times too high for safe working at height¹.

SSEN said it expected many faults to be fixed by the end of that night, with the intention that the remainder be restored the following day, though further faults were likely given the ongoing severe weather¹. Latest restoration times for each fault were being updated on SSEN's Power Track website and app¹.

Why it matters for households

The 105 service is the single number households in Great Britain use to report a power cut and reach their network operator. While the fault persisted, SSEN said callers who were being redirected could instead reach it via WhatsApp, Facebook or its alternative freephone number, 0800 0727 282¹. The company also encouraged customers to save that number to report any loss of supply or damage to the electricity network¹. Households can read more about how these systems work in the guide to how phone and broadband networks respond to storms and outages, and about reporting and tracking faults in the power cuts hub.

SSEN said customers without power for more than 12 hours are entitled to £30 per person for every day without power, to cover the cost of food and drink, and that people should keep hold of receipts and claim costs back at ssen.co.uk/stormclaim¹. It said details of food van locations were being shared on Facebook and X, with text messages sent to customers in the relevant areas¹. The operator said registering for its Priority Services helps it to help customers when they need it most, and that all its priority services are free¹. It listed eligibility as including people who are deaf or hard of hearing, have a disability, live with children under five, are blind or partially sighted, have a chronic illness, use medical equipment or aids reliant on electricity, or are over 60¹. The Priority Services Register guide and the page on extra help from network operators during long outages set out how these arrangements work.

SSEN advised people who see damage to its equipment to stay back, not touch it, and report it by calling 0800 0727 282¹. Its director of customer operations for central southern England, Eliane Algaard, thanked customers for their patience while crews worked to restore supplies as safely and quickly as possible¹.

What happens next

The Energy Networks Association was urgently investigating the 105 line fault as of 7 December 2024; no date for a fix has been reported¹. SSEN said it intended to restore the remaining faults in its region on Sunday 8 December, subject to further weather related faults, with the Met Office Yellow Warning for central southern England in place until 6:00pm that day¹.