Storm Isha tracked across SSEN's central southern England patch

Storm Isha began to track across Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) Distribution's central southern England patch on Sunday 21 January, bringing coastal wind speeds of over 80mph and gusts reaching 70mph inland¹. In an update published on 22 January, SSEN said it had restored power to 35,000 homes in central Southern England following the impacts of the storm¹.

Ahead of the storm, on 19 January, SSEN moved to Yellow Alert status for central southern England. Its model showed south-westerly gusts increasing during the second half of Sunday, with peak gusts of 60-65mph expected between 2100 on Sunday night and 0300 on Monday morning, after which speeds would drop but high winds would persist into the Monday morning rush hour². SSEN said it was getting in touch with almost 250,000 of its more vulnerable customers in the Yellow Alert area to offer tailored help and advice, and had brought in extra teams and bolstered its contact centre². By the 22 January update, it said over 9,000 people on the Priority Services Register in central southern England had been contacted to offer advice and assistance¹.

SSEN said teams of linespeople and tree cutters had worked round the clock since Sunday night to identify and repair faults, and that work would resume from first light on 23 January to reconnect any final customers still off supply¹. Eliane Algaard, Director of Operations South, said:

On payments, SSEN said people who have had no 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 should keep receipts and claim costs back at www.ssen.co.uk/stormclaim¹. Once final fault assessments are carried out, customers without power for over 24 hours will be entitled to compensation under the regulated Guaranteed Standards of Performance: £80, with a further £40 for every subsequent six-hour period off supply. SSEN said customers do not need to contact it to request this, and that anyone eligible who has not heard within a few weeks should get in touch¹.

A separate SSEN update on 23 January, covering the north of Scotland ahead of Storm Jocelyn, said supplies had been restored to more than 37,000 customers as of 12 noon that day, with work continuing to reconnect 370 remaining properties³. That figure covers SSEN's network area as a whole and is not presented as a central southern England total; the 35,000 figure in the 22 January update relates to central Southern England¹.

Why it matters for households

The disruption affected SSEN customers in central southern England from the night of Sunday 21 January into Monday 22 January, with high winds persisting into the Monday morning rush hour². Households off supply for more than 12 hours can claim £30 per person per day for food and drink, with receipts, through SSEN's storm claim page, and those off for over 24 hours fall under the Guaranteed Standards of Performance payments of £80 plus £40 per subsequent six-hour period, which SSEN says it processes without a request¹. SSEN encourages customers to save the emergency power cut number 105 and to follow its social media accounts for updates, and directs them to its Power Track map to track faults and restoration times and to report damage¹. It asks anyone who sees damage to its equipment to stay back, not touch it, and report it on 105 or via Power Track². SSEN says its priority services are free, and lists eligibility as being deaf or hard of hearing, having a disability, living with children under five, being blind or partially sighted, having a chronic illness, using medical equipment or aids reliant on electricity, or being over 60; the register can be reached on 0800 294 3259². Our guides on storms and the electricity network and on power cuts set out how these incidents unfold for households, and the Priority Services Register guide explains who can join and what it provides.

What happens next

SSEN said restoration efforts would resume from first light on 23 January for any final customers still off supply in central southern England¹. It said final fault assessments would then be carried out before Guaranteed Standards of Performance compensation is processed, and that eligible customers who have not heard within a few weeks should get in touch¹.