POWERCUT LATEST: Homes in Maryburgh hit while Loch Ness side residents' wait for electricity continues
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A number of properties in Maryburgh have been hit by a power cut in the aftermath of Storm Gerrit.
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) say around 33 customers in the village have been without electricity after an outage was reported at 11.40 pm last night.
The energy giant estimates that power will be restored to affected homes and businesses in Maryburgh by 12 noon today.
Around 14 customers in Fort Augustus by Loch Ness and four in the south Loch Ness hamlet of Errogie have been without power since Wednesday.
SSEN has been working to restore power to thousands of customers throughout Scotland over the last few days and says it made "considerable progress" yesterday.
By 8:45pm last night, supplies have been successfully restored to more than 46,000 customers, with around 1,500 properties expected to be off supply overnight.
These were mainly due to faults that occurred later on Wednesday and in the early hours of Thursday morning, the company said.
In the Highlands, there were still 292 properties without power last night
Improving conditions today means SSEN, bolstered by the arrival of additional line crews, expects to make significant further progress in coming hours.
But it said the extent of the damage, combined with flooding and access issues, means that some customers would remain off supply into Friday, including some in the west Loch Ness, Aberchalder and Invergarry areas.
Teams worked into the early hours to clear debris which was hindering access to some of the repairs.
SSEN’s customer service agents are calling affected customers to provide updated estimates of restoration and to check on their welfare and is working with local agencies to coordinate welfare arrangements and identify customers who may benefit from additional support.
Welfare vans serving free hot food and drink will reopen at around 0900 this morning at locations including:
The Riggs car park, Fort Augustus, PH32 4DF
Glengarry Parish Church, Invergarry, PH35 4HJ
Andy Smith, Operations Director at SSEN Distribution, said: “As stormy conditions have subsided, we've been able to get thousands of customers safely reconnected.
"This has been a difficult couple of days for the communities affected, and I’m grateful to them for their patience and support as our teams work extremely hard to restore power.
“We’ve targeted our restoration plan on repairing the faults that will reconnect the greatest number of customers, and those who have been without power the longest.
"Where there are complex repairs or very localised faults, we expect around 1,500 homes will be without power overnight. I’d like to reassure our customers that all our resources have been made available for this final push.”
“Our established welfare policy is active, offering reimbursement for meals and accommodation, for those who’re eligible, and we’re speaking to our most vulnerable customers to offer them tailored support.
"Anyone who may need additional help or advice should contact our dedicated teams on the power cut helpline, 105.”
