Storm Arwen: People tell of their relief as electricity is restored after 10 days

Ben Chapman

By Ben Chapman


Published: 07/12/2021

- 17:06

Updated: 07/12/2021

- 17:07

Northern Powergrid is in its “last push” to restore electricity in areas of the country after it was cut off by Storm Arwen, which battered the country during the last days of November.

People have told of their relief after they were finally reconnected after 10 days without electricity.

Northern Powergrid is in its “last push” to restore electricity in areas of the country after it was cut off by Storm Arwen, which battered the country during the last days of November.


Boris Johnson said “too many people have spent too long without power” as a result of Storm Arwen as communities faced a further battering from Storm Barra.

Asked whether the situation in northern England was acceptable, the Prime Minister told reporters: “No, I don’t think it is".

Mr Johnson added “We need to learn the lessons for the future and make sure that we have better resilience against storms of this kind".

The government has meanwhile announced that thousands of people hit by power cuts may have to wait up to 3 months to receive compensation.

Energy minister Greg Hands said he is hoping for "quicker" compensation payments.

"As I understand it, most of that process is paid automatically," he said.

"It does take some time to process, though. It may take up to three months, I am told. I hope it can be quicker and I am sure we can put that view across to the company".

Two Conservative MPs for the north-east of England, Dehenna Davison (Bishop Auckland) and Richard Holden (North West Durham) called the delay "utterly unacceptable" in a joint statement.

The UK continues to be hit by adverse weather conditions, as Storm Barra hits areas of Northern Ireland.

Storm Barra is only “halfway through” and the strongest winds could be yet to come, the Housing Minister has warned.

Some 56,000 homes are without power and may not be reconnected for a number of days, Government officials have said, after the country was battered by winds of up to 130km per hour.