Minister announces inquiry into power failures after storm

The energy minister, Brian Wilson, ordered an investigation of electricity suppliers yesterday as 100,000 homes remained without power after the weekend storms.

The announcement came after the industry watchdog blamed power companies for failing to prepare for the high winds that swept Britain and cut off one million households. Customers were unable to get through on emergency phone lines, not enough engineers were employed to repair damage and some companies had already said they would not pay compensation, according to Energywatch.

Earlier this year, ministers commissioned a study of the ability of the electricity industry to cope in extreme conditions, and will now look at how the companies fared.

Energywatch welcomed the inquiry. "The distribution companies had to do two things: put people back on energy supply and keep consumers informed as to what was happening. They have failed to do either. We seem to have learnt nothing since the hurricane of 1987."

Train operators were also struggling in the aftermath of the storms. Delays and cancellations continued on routes across Britain because of leaf falls, debris on the track and signalling problems caused by the storms on Sunday, when windsof nearly 100mph led to eight deaths.

Some 18,000 people were without power in the West Midlands yesterday, there were more than 17,000 in the East Midlands and 25,000 in East Anglia. Many people could only listen to an answerphone message when they tried to contact electricity distributors.

Customers are entitled to £50 compensation if they have been without power for 18 hours and an additional £25 for subsequent 12-hour periods, but companies are exempt if severe weather has prevented them restoring supplies.

Robert Kirker, 55, landlord of the Thames Head Inn, near Cirencester, Gloucestershire, has been without power since Sunday. He said he had lost business and was struggling to get by with a tiny generator. Attempts to contact his distributor, Aquila Networks, had been unsuccessful. He said he would be seeking compensation.

In nearby Kemble, the postmaster, Kam Chudasama, was unable to do any business. "I can't talk to anybody, you just get an answerphone and all they give you is another number to ring."

The answerphone message, which had not been updated for more than eight hours when The Independent called, reported "widespread damage" and told customers with new faults to call an emergency helpline, which nobody answered.

Nobody from Aquila, an American company, was available in Britain to comment on Energywatch's complaints.

The distributor 24Seven, which was still trying to connect customers in East Anglia yesterday, said it would run a "full review" into the way the storm problems had been handled. Derek Salter, a spokesman for the London Electricity Group, 24Seven's French-owned parent company, said: "There are some people who would say 36 hours off supply in a situation like that is quite acceptable."