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Chronicle Live
Chronicle Live
National
Simon Meechan

Most power cuts in Northumberland and County Durham should be resolved on Sunday

Most of the 20,000 homes in the north left without power last night should be reconnected today, Northern Powergrid says.

Northern Powergrid reconnected 60,000 customers on Saturday who lost power during Storm Malik. The storm has since moved east towards Denmark but a further wind warning will be in place from 3pm on Sunday through until noon on Monday.

The majority of homes still without power on Sunday are in Northumberland and County Durham.

In an update issued late on Saturday night, Northern Powergrid said: "We expect most of the 20,000 customers that are still without power tonight will be restored on Sunday."

Read more: Storm Malik rips roof off Bensham terrace

But some homes are likely to remain without power on Monday and possibly beyond.

Northern Powergrid Director, Paul Glendinning, said: “We have successfully restored supplies to more than 60,000 customers but given the amount of work that there is to do and the fact that we are expecting more high winds on Sunday evening, we think that it is likely that a relatively small proportion of our customers will remain without power beyond the weekend. At this point, we cannot be clear on exactly how many might not be restored tomorrow – and at this point we still intend to do everything we can to try to reconnect everyone tomorrow.

Storm Malik did not cause damage as severe as Storm Arwen, which left some homes without power for 12 days.

"The network operator has mobilised teams to start carrying out physical repair work alongside those engineers who are restoring power switching electricity through alternative routes to reconfigure the system and restore supplies," says the update.

"Teams from the network operator’s other operating areas have been moved to the North East to provide additional support. Resources are also arriving from parts of the country who have not been hit as hard by the storm and Northern Powergrid is grateful for the support they will be provided as part of NEWSAC, an industry mutual aid agreement."

Northern Powergrid has set up a food van to serve breakfast to affected customers. Northern Powergrid is also serving hot food and snacks from Kielder Post Office.

According to Northern Powergrid's power cut map, most homes in Northumberland and County Durham can be expected to be reconnected by 6pm on Sunday.

Go here for more Northumberland news and updates from Northumberland Live

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