THE Government has promised to launch a review of the UK power grids and its ability to deal with storm damage – following the aftermath of Storm Arwen and thousands of houses in the North East losing power.
Many communities in the region were left without electricity and heating for over seven days after the storm battered the North of England earlier this month – leaving a trail of destruction in its path.
In County Durham, army personnel had to be drafted in to carry out welfare checks on families left without power for up to 12 days.
Read more: Power restored to 240,000 North East homes after Storm Arwen
On Thursday (December 9), Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng launched a review into the resilience of Britain’s electricity network – calling the delay in reconnecting homes “completely unacceptable”.
Mr Kwarteng said: “While I’m pleased all affected customers are now back online, it is completely unacceptable so many were left without power for so long.
“There is an urgent need to identify and resolve a number of issues which came to light during the Storm Arwen response, and the review I’ve commissioned, alongside Ofgem’s, will ensure any failings are addressed.”
The Government’s decision to launch an investigation comes after Labour MPs mounted pressure on Prime Minister Boris Johnson earlier in the week – telling the PM to “take charge and carry out a full review”.
These calls for an investigation were heighted yesterday when Sir Keir Starmer visited communities in Northumberland to see the extent of those only just getting back on their feet after Storm Arwen.
During his visit to Hadston, Northumberland, the Labour leader called on the Government to be “open and transparent” with any review that’s carried out.
He said: “I’ve been talking to people who have been without power for ten days, who have talked about being in the pitch dark and without the ability to contact anyone.
“They were left there because the Government hasn’t got a plan, instead they’ve got a Prime Minister up to his neck in stories of dishonesty in Downing Street.”
In the Commons, the shadow environment secretary, Jim McMahon, who visited the region during Storm Arwen, questioned the Government on its response to Storm Arwen, arguing that while ministers were “defending a dodgy Christmas party”, people in the north of England “couldn’t even turn on the Christmas lights”.
Mr McMahon also pressed Environment Secretary, George Eustice, on why he was absent during the crisis in the North East.
He said: “Given the most impacted were those in our rural communities, and given the Secretary of State’s overarching role for Rural Affairs, can he inform the House when he visited those affected in the North of England, and what he took away from it?
“A national emergency but COBRA wasn’t called, the Prime Minister was missing in action, the Secretary of State we now know was missing in action.”
Mr Eustice defended the decision not to attend the North of England during Storm Arwen, saying that Energy Minister Greg Hands had visited the affected communities and to offer help and support to families in need.
Earlier this week the Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng wrote to energy companies setting out expectations for them to deliver compensation to affected customers without delay.
Read more: Northern Powergrid: Storm Barra may cause more power cuts
Ofgem has also announced that the £700 limit on compensation has been removed, allowing customers to be compensated up to £140 a day for every day without power after the first 48 hours.
County Durham MPs on both sides of the political divide have repeatedly raised concerns about the response time from both energy companies and the Government, as well as the compensation element.
Conservative MP’s Richard Holden (North West Durham) and Dehenna Davison (Bishop Auckland) have called on the Government to compensate families before Christmas, with both politicians raising it in the House of Commons.
Labour MP for City of Durham, Mary Kelly Foy, has also pushed the Government to compensate families, but has also accused Energy Minster, Greg Hands of “posing for photo opportunities” instead of “actually making a difference” when he visited County Durham last week.
She said: “I was struck by his seeming disinterest in what is a serious situation for my constituents, such as those in Croxdale.
“This is the same minister who, when visiting the North East to survey the impact of the storm, took the train to Durham Station, passed through our constituency, and paid a carefully stayed visit to a Conservative constituency.
“I'm trying to get support for my constituents, yet all ministers seem to be interested in is photo opportunities.”
In a local capacity, residents in Upper Weardale that were impacted by Storm Arwen have taken matters into their own hands.
Communities gathered on Thursday evening in Wolsingham Town Hall to discuss the review and people’s experiences of the power shortages.
Led by former chief whip and MP, Hilary Armstrong, the meeting is one example of residents carrying out their own internal review across the North East.
The Government review of the energy network is expected to be published on March 31, 2022.
Paul Glendinning, Executive Director at Northern Powergrid, said: “We have reconnected 240,000 homes and businesses that were without power because of the extensive storm damage caused to our electricity network.
Read more: Community looked after by Barnard Castle curry house amid Storm Arwen
“We’re sorry that we couldn’t get it done quicker, because we know that it has been very difficult for our customers to be without power for such a long time.
“This experience has taught us that there are areas where we need to improve. In particular, in the way we use our systems to communicate with people in the event of major power cuts. We have already made some changes and will learn more lessons from the reviews that will follow.”
David Smith, chief executive of Energy Networks Association, which represents the UK and Ireland’s energy networks businesses, added: “We welcome and fully support the reviews announced by Ofgem and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
“It’s important that we learn from Storm Arwen, particularly as the intensity and frequency of storms increases with climate change.”
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