01738 493229
After the wild week of weather care of Hurricane Matthew, it’s time or people to think about severe winter weather conditions and the impact on the power supplies of homes and businesses.
We asked SP Energy Networks, which owns and manages the network of cables and power lines throughout Scotland has issued advice to help keep customers safe and informed.
To help prepare for winter, SP Energy Networks has invested over £80m in the last year to rebuild and refurbish overhead power lines, cut trees and other vegetation and protect substations from potential flooding - in total, the company manages approximately 12,000km of underground cables and overhead power lines and 3280 substations that connect over 360,000 homes and businesses.
Strong winds, snowfall and flooding have all affected residents in recent years.
A spokesman for SP Energy Networks said: “We all rely on electricity, especially during the darker winter months.
“Although power cuts are rare events for most people, it makes sense to be prepared just in case.
“If there is a power outage, our team of engineers are on hand to fix faults and get people’s power supply back as soon as possible.
“It only takes a few minutes to check that you have everything you need at home in the event of a power cut and the relevant numbers handy to report it so we can help.”
Guy’s top tips for being prepared in the event of a power outage are:
Keep the SP Energy Networks number close to hand - it’s best to keep this on the fridge or saved beside other important numbers such as your doctor’s surgery.
This way if you need to contact us you have the number there and we can help you as soon as possible.
Keep mobile charged – having your mobile charged means that you can give us a call on our helpline number.
Alternatively, if you’re mobile is out of battery or signal, it’s worth having an analogue phone as this doesn’t run off the main electricity supply.
Keep a battery powered torch and radio - leave this somewhere you can access easily so that you can use the torch to check on the fuse box and make your way around the house safely.
A battery powered radio can also help you to receive updates on the incident.
Avoid leaving your fridge or freezer open - your fridge and freezer should remain cold for a considerable amount of time when power if off.
However, it’s best to minimise the amount of times you open the door.
Unplug powered equipment – make sure you unplug electrical appliances such as your TV and laptop.
This also includes heaters, electric fires and cookers as you may forget about them when power is restored.