Thousands without power after snow

Mar 22 2013

Thousands of homes are without power as heavy snow hit Scotland's electricity network.

Blizzards battered large parts of the country throughout the day, shutting dozens of roads and more than 100 schools.

ScottishPower said 6,000 properties remained cut off this evening as engineers struggled to reach those affected in the south west because of blocked routes. In some cases staff were faced with 7ft snow drifts, it said, with Wigtownshire, Portpatrick and Newton Stewart worst hit by the weather.

Energy provider SSE reported earlier that the whole of the Isle of Arran lost power, affecting 10,000 homes and businesses on the island and in Argyll. A ScottishPower spokesman said: "Our engineers will work as late as possible, but due to blocked roads and continuing poor weather, we will have customers off supply overnight. Anyone requiring advice should contact the ScottishPower Emergency Helpline on 0845 272 7999. We have mobilised even more engineers to be available first thing in the morning and, depending on road conditions, we hope to reach our customers that were not possible today."

On the roads, the A77 in Dumfries and Galloway was blocked by a jackknifed lorry and the A9 remained shut between Dalwhinnie and Newtonmore due to high winds and low visibility.

The extreme weather conditions prompted a meeting of the Scottish Government's Resilience Room.

Transport Minister Keith Brown said: "The Scottish Government's Resilience Room has been operational throughout the day monitoring the situation and offering assistance where possible but utility companies are warning that some homes will be without power overnight. Power companies are working closely with local authorities to identify vulnerable customers and are proactively phoning customers with information on the situation and offering advice.

"On the roads, we have seen particularly harsh weather conditions with road access on the A75 and A77 cutting some communities off altogether. We have offered mutual aid to Dumfries and Galloway council to help them with winter maintenance operations and our Operating Company in the south west has diverted resources to get the trunk roads operational at the earliest opportunity."

The harsh weather looked set to continue into the weekend according to the Met Office, which has amber "be prepared" warnings in place for the south-west and the Lothian and Borders area until midnight on Saturday. The Highlands, Western Isles, Grampian, Strathclyde, Tayside, Fife and central Scotland areas are on yellow "be aware" alerts.

Mr Brown said Scotland's 130-strong fleet of gritting and road clearing vehicles would be working "flat out" throughout the weekend. He urged drivers to heed police advice and plan any journeys in advance.