Snow and ice storm hits Shetland cutting power to 5,289 homes

An extreme snow and ice storm hit Shetland on Monday 12 December, leaving 5,289 homes without power, according to the electricity distribution network operator Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN)¹. SSEN said its engineers and line crews had restored power to all 5,289 homes affected by the storm by the afternoon of Sunday 18 December¹.

The final 24 homes, in Vementry, Grobsness, Brechin and Watsness, were connected at 4pm that afternoon, SSEN said, following six days of work by a 160-strong field operations team supported by additional line crews from contract partners and other network operators, including Keltbray, SP Energy Networks and Northern Powergrid¹. The company said the majority of faults were caused by "line icing", where snow and ice accumulate on overhead power lines and the added weight causes them to break². SSEN said the scale of ice-loading brought comparisons with the "Big Snaa" of 1995, and that many of its teams and residents said the damage this time was worse¹.

The number of homes off supply fell through the week, as SSEN's updates recorded:

SSEN said 94 properties in Freester, Eswick and Vardasta, first reconnected on Thursday 15 December at 6.35pm, lost supply again from Saturday evening because of a secondary fault⁸. On 15 December the company said some properties in the West Mainland, particularly west of Bixter, were expected to be reconnected in the early part of the following week⁷; its final update on 18 December recorded full restoration¹.

Why it matters for households

SSEN asked any customer still without power after 18 December to report it on 105, as it might be a very localised fault or a problem with the internal electrical supply¹. It said permanent repairs would continue and might require temporary planned disconnections for short periods, with customers notified in advance wherever possible¹.

On compensation, SSEN said payments under the regulated Guaranteed Standards of Performance are automatic and customers do not need to contact it to request them¹. For interruptions over 48 hours, customers receive £70, with a further £70 for every subsequent 12-hour period off supply, and payment was expected in January¹. SSEN also offered to reimburse reasonable food costs for a hot meal, up to £30 per person for every 24 hours without power from 3pm on Tuesday 13 December, on production of receipts, and reasonable costs for alternative accommodation where customers could not stay with family or friends¹. Claims could be made online, or by calling 105 for help to raise one manually¹.

SSEN urged people not to approach damaged equipment and to report it on 105 or through its Power Track app³. It encouraged customers to save the 105 number, use the app for details of power cuts and restoration times, and follow its updates³. It said its Priority Services Register provides extra help during a power cut, with eligibility 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 electricity-reliant medical equipment, are over 60, or temporarily need extra support; the register can be reached on 0800 294 3259³. During the incident SSEN said it had proactively contacted over 700 customers on the register², and it worked with Shetland Islands Council, the Care for People Group and the Local Resilience Partnership on welfare support, including mobile generation for rest centres and warm hubs⁴. On 15 December it listed warm hubs and welfare centres open across Shetland, some with hot drinks, kitchen facilities, broadband and fuel⁶.

Households preparing for storms and long outages can read our guides to storms and the electricity network, how long until the electricity comes back, reporting a loss of electricity on 105, keeping warm without electricity and the Priority Services Register.

What happens next

SSEN said it would continue permanent repairs to bring the network to full operation and prevent further power cuts, which might require short planned disconnections notified in advance where possible¹. It said compensation would be processed automatically in the weeks after the event, with direct communication to follow and payment expected in January¹. SSEN also issued a weather warning for Sunday into Monday in parts of its north of Scotland network area, adding that at that time no significant risk was expected in Shetland¹.