Almost 10,000 homes still without power days after storms battered Scotland

Engineers from Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks said as of midday on Tuesday 9,500 customers were still without power.

Storms knocked thousands of homes off the power grid at the weekend (Owen Humphreys/PA) (PA Wire)

Almost 10,000 homes are still without electricity days after they were knocked off the power grid by two storms that battered Scotland in quick succession.

Storm Corrie hit the country on Sunday evening, with wind speeds of more than 90mph recorded in places, including a gust of 92mph at Inverbervie, Aberdeenshire – higher than the speeds recorded when Storm Arwen caused damage last year, or when Storm Malik hit on Saturday.

Engineers from Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) said as of midday on Tuesday, 9,500 customers were unable to turn the lights on at home but that power had been restored to 105,000 homes.

Richard Gough, director of distribution system operations at SSEN, said engineers “have continued to make strong progress restoring power to customers impacted” and that “all available resources have been deployed to support with restoration efforts”.

The power firm warned some homes could be without electricity until Wednesday, but said the vast majority of its customers should be back on the network by Tuesday evening.

A fallen tree in Clydebank, Scotland, after storms (Gregor Fulton/PA) (PA Media)

The main areas which continue to be affected, the power company said, are rural Aberdeenshire and the Angus border, with some customers also having no power in Perthshire, the Highlands, Western Isles, and the Moray Coast.

Mr Gough said: “Although the cumulative impact of Storms Malik and Corrie has compounded the challenge, we have started our final push and aim to restore power to the vast majority of customers today.

“For the pockets of customers that will remain without supply into Wednesday, we are prioritising welfare and support, working closely with local resilience partners.”

The Met Office has a yellow weather warning for wind until 6pm on Tuesday, which warns of gusts as high as 65mph in some areas.

The forecaster said it was warning of strong winds across the Orkney Islands, much of the Highlands, Grampian, and Tayside areas, with speeds easing by the evening.