More homes have been left without power for the tenth day since Storm Arwen hit the north and Scotland with the weather only to get worse with more wind, rain and snow forecasted for the next few days.
Northern Powergrid has previously said homes could be without power until Wednesday 8 November but now expect to complete their works, by rebuilding the overhead lines damaged by Arwen, on Tuesday.
A spokeswoman for the energy firm said that 260 generators have now been installed around the north east to get the power back on for those affected.
The spokeswoman for Northern Powergrid said: ‘We are now hopeful that the work we have in front of us will be complete on Tuesday, provided that any additional damage that we find is small.’
Many are frustrated at the lack of government intervention, including James Cosslett, a local councillor for Durham County Council, who said: ‘I’m a Tory, but I’ve got to be honest with you, if this happened in London, can you imagine, or in the southeast, everything would have got thrown at it,’ he told The Times.
Huge amounts of rainfall and wind last night caused further power cuts, with Steven Bridgett, a county councillor for Rothbury, Northumberland, saying that more than 600 properties in the town have been left without electricity.
He said that people he spoke to in County Durham told him they felt isolated, angry and forgotten.
Mr Bridgett told Sky News: ‘I firmly believe had this been the case where 20,000 properties were without power in Surrey or in London, the government would absolutely have treated it with more seriousness.
Home owner Ian Cartwright speaks to Craftsman Emily Heavisive, right, and Trooper Josh Harvey from the Royal Lancers as they carry out a welfare check. Several thousand people in the north east remain without power for the tenth day since Storm Arwen battered parts of England and Scotland
As the area faces another bout of wet and windy conditions, members of the British Army’s Royal Lancers, a cavalry regiment are conducting welfare checks on affected residents like Ian Cartwright, pictured, who was visited by Craftsman Emily Heavisive and Trooper Josh Harvey
‘[Last night] pretty much wiped out all of the good work that had been achieved over the last three or four days.
‘We’re now back up to about 600 properties that are still without power.
‘We’ve got significant surface water flooding happening in this area as well.
‘Some of the roads are starting to flood.
‘We’ve pretty much had constant rainfall now for 12 to 14 hours.
‘It started off as snow then it progressed into heavy rainfall with wind.’
Weather warnings are in place for much of the UK on Tuesday.
Yellow wind weather warnings are in place across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, with yellow snow warnings in place in Southern and Western Scotland.
On Saturday, gusts of between 35-50 miles per hour battered the country overnight, with temperatures plummeting to below zero in parts of Scotland.
Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has said that it is ‘totally unacceptable’ that some people are still without power more than a week after Storm Arwen.
It comes as the Energy Networks Association (ENA) said that 4,025 homes were still waiting to be reconnected as of 8am on Sunday. This is down from 4,700 homes on Saturday night.
The majority of the impacted homes are in the north-east of England, the ENA added.
Mr Kwarteng visited Durham to survey the damage done by the storm.
Speaking to the BBC, he said: ‘I completely accept that this is totally unacceptable.
‘It’s wrong and bad for people to be off power for such a long time.
‘That’s why I’m here to make sure that we can get people back on as quickly as possible.
‘As I’ve said, for 99.5% of people they’re back on, but for the ones that are still having to put up with this is is unacceptable.’
He added that a review will be carried out, and if energy firms are found to have failed to invest in infrastructure then ‘there could be enforcement action’.
As well as weather warnings, the Met Office predicts further wet and windy weather heading into next week, with poor weather conditions continuing in areas already impacted by Storm Arwen.
Met Office meteorologist Rachel Ayers said: ‘It will be a relatively nice day today, but overnight tonight it will be windy.
‘Temperatures, with the wind and cloud cover, should stay up tonight.
‘That should help things a little bit, but we are expecting some more changeable and unsettled weather.
‘This unsettled weather isn’t going to help areas that have been impacted by Storm Arwen too much.’
Trooper Josh Harvey from the Royal Lancers speaks with home owner Ian Cartwright as he carries out a welfare check on a remote property that remains without power in Teesdale
Craftsman Emily Heavisive and Trooper Josh Harvey from the Royal Lancers carry out a welfare check on a remote property that remains without power in Teesdale earlier today
Five days of snowfall and overnight windchill was expected to bite the Northeast coast and parts of Scotland. Pictured: Waves crash over tramlines at Blackpool yesterday
Britain is bracing for blistering weather conditions including five days of snow and an overnight windchill that could push temperatures as low as -11C – as thousands of vulnerable people are still without power following deadly Storm Arwen. Pictured: Huge waves at Blackpool North shore
There are huge concerns for the thousands of people in northern England and Scotland who are still living without power eight days. Pictured: A welfare check is carried out on a resident of Weatherhill, County Durham on Friday – after the storm caused ‘catastrophic damage’ to the electricity network
Stewart Sexton, from Alnwick in Northumberland, is on day 10 without power.
‘Yesterday we had confirmation that it would be on by close of play today,’ the 57-year-old told the PA news agency.
‘NPG (Northern Powergrid) even called us back to say yes, confirmed, back on the fifth.
‘However, it’s blowing 40mph with rain here today so that confirmation is highly unlikely, if not impossible.’
The Ministry of Defence told PA that 297 personnel from the British Army and Royal Marines were still providing support to civil authorities and conducting door-to-door checks on vulnerable people on Sunday morning.
On Saturday, Boris Johnson said he had held calls with those leading the response to Storm Arwen and the Government is ready to further support the recovery work ‘in any way we can’.
The long delays have prompted energy regulator Ofgem to warn it will take enforcement action against network companies which failed to restore power to customers quickly enough.
It has also agreed with firms to lift the £700 cap on compensation which could be offered to those stuck without power.
The change will allow those affected to claim £70 for each 12-hour period they have no electricity, are an initial £70 for the first 48 hours’ of any cut.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) released photographs of Royal Marines of 45 Command visiting remote communities and vulnerable households in the Banchory area of Aberdeenshire following the power outages
The harsh conditions even hit villages surrounding The Queen’s Balmoral Castle estate, with the skeleton staff at her Highlands home being battered by 90mph winds and blizzards, The Sun reported.
Met Office meteorologist Steve Keats said: ‘A couple of points to watch for will be winds, which under normal circumstances wouldn’t be an issue but if you’re trying to repair downed power lines it’s more sensitive.
‘Saturday is expected to be cold. There will be quite a mild windshield coming down from the northwest, so it’s going to feel not much above freezing for quite a lot of places.’
The long delays have prompted energy regulator Ofgem to warn it will take enforcement action against network companies which failed to restore power to customers quickly enough following the storm.
Ofgem announced on Friday it was launching a review of the companies’ response to the storm which left thousands of homes without electricity.
It has also agreed with firms to lift the £700 cap on compensation which could be given to customers.
The change will allow those affected to claim £70 for each 12-hour period they are left without power, after an initial £70 for the first 48 hours.
Chief executive Jonathan Brearley told the BBC Radio 4 programme: ‘We are deeply concerned about customers who for over a week have been without power.
‘We want to establish the facts and make sure we understand what has happened, whether the network companies have met their obligations. If they haven’t, we will take enforcement action.
It is predicted that a band of rain on Monday will be preceded by snow that could be widespread in Scotland, northern England and the Midlands, and North Wales. Pictured: Blackpool North shore
The Met Office said the weather is predicted to be cold, windy and showery with some hilly areas experiencing snow on Saturday. Pictured: The sunrise over Whitby, north-east England
Sunday will continue to be cold with some showers in the east of England while the west is predicted to have dry weather and some sunshine. Pictured: Whitby Abbey casts a shadow
‘We have clear expectations of how fast they should get people back on the system.
‘We do recognise the challenging circumstances those companies are in. But what we expect from the network companies is to be relentless in connecting people, but also to be putting support in place.’
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: ‘My thoughts are with all those who are still affected by the terrible damage from Storm Arwen.
‘I want to thank the emergency responders and engineers who have been working tirelessly this week to try and restore power.
‘I also want to thank our brilliant Armed Forces who have been deployed rapidly to support those communities which are worst affected.’
The Ministry of Defence said 297 personnel from the British Army and Royal Marines are supporting civil authorities in areas impacted by Storm Arwen and are conducting door-to-door checks on vulnerable people in their homes and providing reassurance to local communities.
Eighty soldiers of 4 Royal Artillery based at Alan Brook Barracks in Topcliffe have deployed to Northumberland on Saturday to check on vulnerable people and identify where additional support is required, a statement said.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: ‘Our dedicated Armed Forces personnel are working side by side with civil authorities to provide essential support to communities impacted by Storm Arwen.
The Ministry of Defence said 297 personnel from the British Army and Royal Marines are supporting civil authorities in areas impacted by Storm Arwen and are conducting door-to-door checks on vulnerable people in their homes and providing reassurance to local communities
Weather conditions today will see rain clearing eastwards, then most parts seeing a mixture of sunny spells and blustery showers. The showers heaviest and most frequent in the north and west, whilst more persistent rain and hill snow affects northern parts. Pictured: Sunrise over Whitby
‘The ability to deploy quickly to wherever in the UK assistance is requested makes us all safer and ensures we are able to look protect the most vulnerable in our society.’
The head of the energy market regulator has agreed with electricity companies to lift the cap on compensation for customers whose power was not restored quickly enough following Storm Arwen.
Ofgem announced on Friday it was launching a review of the companies’ response to the storm which left thousands of homes without electricity.
The agreement between the regulator and companies means customers could receive more than the cap of £700 if firms are found to have fallen short of their obligations.
Ofgem chief executive Jonathan Brearley told BBC Breakfast: ‘One thing we’ve done already is we’ve said to network companies, and they’ve agreed, they’ve lifted the cap on the compensation they will give customers and they’ll make sure that those customers do get some compensation for everything they’ve been through.’
He added: ‘What we want to do, simply, is establish the facts, make sure quickly that lessons are learned and, of course, if obligations haven’t been met, then we will pursue enforcement action.’
Supplier Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) said 950 properties were without power as of 10pm on Friday.
Northern Powergrid announced 5,100 customers, of 240,000 who lost power, are yet to be connected.
Western Power Distribution still had 254 without power while Electricity North West, which provides energy for an area between the Scottish border and Stockport, said 700 properties were without power as of 8pm on Friday night.
Meanwhile, SP Energy Networks said it had restored power to all 200,000 customers who were disconnected.