Northern Powergrid's pledge after Storm Arwen damage

Power supply emergency teams are working from dawn to dusk to get the lights back on after Storm Arwen ripped through the North East.
A worker carries out repairs.A worker carries out repairs.
A worker carries out repairs.

Northern Powergrid had more than 2,000 people working on the clear-up on Sunday – including 100 extra engineers drafted in from other areas of the country to repair downed electricity lines - and the company say vulnerable customers are being supported through its customer support vehicles, British Red Cross and with additional support from Northern Gas Networks.

All planned work remains postponed as teams focused getting customers back on supply.

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The network operator has now restored power to around 213,000 of the 240,000 customers.

The scale of damage in some locations mean some large sections of overhead lines will need to be rebuilt.

Where it can, Northern Powergrid is continuing to deploy temporary fixes that get customers back on supply whilst its teams coordinate the necessary permanent repairs.

But, due to the scale of the damage, long-term repairs are expected to continue until the end of the year.

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Rod Gardner, Northern Powergrid’s major incident manager, said: “The response effort we have coordinated is one the largest we have ever undertaken.

“Despite the immense challenges we have faced, we have restored more than 213,000 customers’ supplies and our dedicated teams will not stop until all customers are restored, and our network is returned to full strength."

“We are doing everything possible to restore power to as many customers as possible today and will ensure we call every customer who is still off supply as a result of the storm.”

Customers can contact the company by calling 105.