SSEN Distribution moves to Weather Warning status ahead of forecast high winds

SSEN Distribution moved to Weather Warning status on 18 December 2023 ahead of a period of strong winds forecast across northern Scotland, the network operator announced that day. The Met Office had issued a Yellow Weather Warning for Thursday¹.

SSEN's weather model showed a low-pressure system moving through the North Sea between Shetland and Iceland, which it said would bring strong winds across northern Scotland from the early hours of Thursday morning¹. The following day, 19 December, SSEN said it was moving to Yellow Alert status for the same weather, with gusts of up to 75 mph possible in the Northern and Western Isles in the early hours of Thursday, winds reaching 65 mph in places on the north west, Caithness and the Argyll coast, and much of Scotland seeing gusts of 60 to 70 mph around 6am². The two notices use different status names for the same forecast period; SSEN has not explained the change in its published statements.

SSEN said its customer service team was telephoning the most vulnerable customers and that it had already contacted nearly 200,000 vulnerable customers by text message². It asked anyone who finds damaged equipment to stay back, not touch it, and report it by calling 105 or through its Power Track website, so engineers can investigate as soon as possible¹.

Why it matters for households

The warning covers SSEN's north of Scotland network region, with the strongest winds expected in the early hours of Thursday and around 6am¹. SSEN advises households to save the emergency power cut number, 105, to report any loss of supply or damage to the electricity network, and to use its Power Track website for details of power cuts and restoration times¹. It also points customers to the Preparing for a power cut section of its website and to its webchat service¹.

SSEN states that customers are eligible for its free Priority Services Register if they 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 60. The register can be discussed on 0800 294 3259¹. SSEN's guidance on the register and on preparing for a power cut sits alongside our guides to storms and the electricity network and to the Priority Services Register.

SSEN also encourages customers to follow its Facebook page (ssencommunity) for regular updates, and notes that Power Track can show the nearest EV charge point for electric vehicle owners who need to charge during a power cut².

What happens next

SSEN said it was continuing to monitor the weather front closely and would issue further updates depending on the forecast¹. Its later notices record further alerts over the festive period: Weather Warning status on 24 December for high winds from noon across the west coast of the Scottish mainland, the Western Isles, Caithness, Wester Ross, Aberdeenshire, Moray, Orkney and Shetland, with gusts of up to 60 mph and up to 70 mph on the north east coast, easing by midnight³; and Yellow Alert status on 26 December ahead of high winds and snow, with the likelihood of disruption greater in Perthshire, Angus, Aberdeenshire, Argyll, Caithness, Orkney and Shetland, the north west Highlands and the Moray Firth⁴. On 26 December SSEN said it was sending text messages to tens of thousands of Priority Service Register customers⁴.