The response of power companies including Northern Powergrid to Storm Arwen has been branded as "unacceptable" in a highly critical Government report.
A 34-page interim report published by the Department for Business on Thursday stated that Northumberland was among the worst hit regions in the country by November's storm.
Despite stating that "lessons must be learnt and improvements made," it was also acknowledged that Storm Arwen was "the worst storm in 10 years in terms of the combination of wind speed, direction, speed and temperature".
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The review into the electricity industry's response to the storm was launched on December 9 by Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng, with the aim of addressing system resilience, consumer protection and additional response support.
The report found the "primary causes of damage were from flying debris, falling trees and strong winds snapping poles and bringing down overhead lines which were also affected by ice build-up" and that the "challenges presented by the prevailing conditions impeded the response by some Network operators and their ability to provide timely and accurate estimated times for restoration to customers".
Communication - something Northern Powergrid faced particularly strong criticism for - was singled out, with the report claiming that "customer contact systems were overwhelmed" by the sheer number of users.
Other essential services such as water and communications were also disrupted as they "lacked full resilience to power loss" on the scale caused by Arwen.
It comes as the North East faces further disruption in the middle of two storms - as Storm Eunice sweeps in shortly after the arrival of Storm Dudley.
The report's key findings were:
- Network operators should review their forecasting capabilities to ensure wind direction as well as speed and duration are taken into account
- Wooden power lines are built to withstand lower and less sustained wind speeds
- Network operators should review plans to enable them to quickly assess the extent of network damage earlier
- A more resilient communications system is needed to prevent telecommunications outages
- The industry should review the number of mobile generators and the strategies for deploying them
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Storm Arwen brought "unacceptably long" power cuts to some households. Strategies to reduce the length of time a small number of customers remain off supply for following severe and widespread power disruption "need to be enhanced"
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Estimated times for power restoration were "optimistic" and the way in which the moving estimates were communicated made it difficult for people to make informed decisions about their welfare
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Wait times for some customers to contact their network operator were "unacceptably high"
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More consistency in welfare support is needed to mitigate against "substantial differences" in support offered
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Not all compensation payments were made by Christmas and new processes should be established to ensure payment is given without delay
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Some customers weren't aware of their compensation entitlement
A final report is due to be submitted to the secretary of state by the end of March, during which time the review will continue to work on the issues identified to see what lessons can be learnt and provide recommendations for the prevention and management of future power cuts.
Northern Powergrid have released a statement regarding the findings of the investigation - citing that they have "already started to implement some of the lessons learned" from previous storms, in preparation for future storms.
Paul Glendinning, policy and markets director of Northern Powergrid, said: “The reviews are looking to learn lessons from one of the worst storms seen in decades.
"We are fully engaged in the process with Government and industry colleagues.
"Whilst we await the Government’s final report we have already started to implement some of the lessons learned, which our customers have seen in the recent storms – and they will see again today if Storm Eunice causes disruption to our region.”
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