Villagers take control of power
A RURAL community has taken charge of its power supply thanks to a £13,390 grant from an energy giant.
The small port of Uig, in the north- east of the Isle of Skye, will now be able to weather winter storms without the loss of power after taking up delivery of two brand new generators.
The Uig Community Trust secured the generators through a grant from Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks’ Community Resilience Fund, which offers support to projects up to a maximum of £20,000.
One generator is to be placed at the community- owned Uig filling station and shop, with the other inside the village hall.
Chairwomen of the trust Seonag Henderson, who is also a member of the hall committee, said: ‘ We get power- cuts in Uig almost every year during the winter and some have lasted for three days.
‘Many of the houses here are heated by electricity and when the power goes out people cannot keep warm, let alone cook, and they cannot get food or fuel.
‘Having our own generator will mean we can bring the community together in the village hall, which has recently been donated a new kitchen by Howden’s in Portree, and we can keep the shop and fuel pumps working.’
Uig Community Council and Uig Community Hall Committee will fund the installation of the generators and the trust expects they will be of great benefit to the community.
A spokesperson from SSE Networks said: ‘ We are proud to help power the community of Uig in preparation for winter and hope the generators provided through the fund will help the community be more resilient in times of bad weather.’