Hundreds of homes have power restored – 700 remain without
Alistair Munro
A team of 150 engineers have restored power to a further 900 homes in Sandness, Hillswick, Papa Stour and Wester Skeld, with around 700 properties now remaining without power.
There was some significant progress in West Mainland through the course of yesterday.
The properties still without power are in parts of Voe, Brae and West of Mainland Shetland.
Helicopters have been patrolling the West Mainland area, pinpointing key sections of damage to help our teams to target their efforts and get homes reconnected quicker than expected in some areas.
SSE said that, subject to no unforeseen challenges, they were confident that the vast majority, if not all, homes will be reconnected by Sunday. There’s a chance that some small clusters of properties in the West Mainland, particularly west of Bixter, may be reconnected on Monday.
Additional power line crews travelled through the night to join the teams to continue to make every possible effort to accelerate this timescale.
Some properties that have had their power restored may be temporarily disconnected for a short period of time as engineers progress with the restoration plan and connect more properties to the network.
Mark Macdonald, Head of Region at SSEN Distribution, said:
Mark Macdonald, head of region at SSEN Distribution, said: “[Friday] has been about making significant progress as heavy snowfall continued, reconnecting towns and villages area-by-area as we continue to repair, rebuild and restore the local electricity network ahead of our forecasts.
“Our 150-strong team of engineers and contract partners will continue to work this evening and be joined at first light tomorrow by more crews, with everyone focused on working together to restore power as quickly as we can. Thanks to the huge effort today, we’re confident we’ll reconnect the vast majority, if not all, homes by Sunday, with a chance some small clusters will be restored on Monday.
“We recognise that being without power for a prolonged period of time can be challenging, particularly for those most vulnerable. We’d like to thank Shetland Islands Council, our resilience partners and local Shetland communities for supporting those who need it most and pulling together to keep spirits up. If anyone has any concerns for themselves or others, please call us immediately on 105.”
