Residents saw ‘flash’ as power went out
Residents of a Perthshire town described seeing an“explosion” seconds before hundreds of homes lost their electricity supply.
Parts of Aberfeldy were left without power for around seven hours on Friday when the fault occurred.
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) was alerted to the issue just before 10am on an overhead transformer in the Highland Perthshire town.
A local resident who took to social media described seeing “a big green flash over rooftops”.
Another eyewitness described seeing a second transformer “blowing up” on the
Urlar Road at 10.15am, adding: “Above us there was a bright light explosion and then bang!”
The supply automatically went off to 263 neighbouring properties as a safety block on the fault.
SSEN dispatched engineers to put a new transformer in place and by 1pm, around half the homes had their electric supply back.
Breadalbane Academy contacted parents to explain that the morning’s remote learning was being interrupted for some local children and online there was a scramble for students to access their data allowance through mobile devices so they could continue to follow lessons.
The first chunk of properties were able to get the lights and heating back on at lunchtime but 155 properties remained without power until 5pm.
Steven Dow, chef and shop owner, said it had been difficult for older residents in the town.
He told the PA: “I got electricity back in my house at 1pm plus I have gas heating and a wood burner.
“At 5pm I could still see men up the poles on Alma Avenue.
“But seven hours of no power was a nightmare for some of the old folks in the town.
“I’m an emergency keyholder for some older people and with snow lying on the ground, keeping their heating running has been a priority these past weeks.
“With it getting dark early and lights not working, and in some cases all the heating down, I really feel for those who live in the parts of town that did not come back on till 5pm.”
A spokesperson for SSEN apologised to the affected residents.
They added: ”When faults like this occur, this causes our safety equipment to operate and temporarily turn off the power - in this case to 263 nearby properties in Aberfeldy.
“On the rare occasions there is a power cut, our priority is to restore our customers’ supplies as safely and as quickly as possible.”