NIE completing restoration operation with 400 customers still without power
NIE Networks says it emergency response operation is concluding with the 400 customers still without power expected to be restored on Monday (February 3).
In a statement on its website, the company said as of 8am this morning approximately 400 customers remain without power with crews working to draw the restoration efforts to a close.
In total 285,000 households and businesses were impacted by power cuts following Storm Éowyn which brought sustained winds of 95mph.
Derek Hynes, managing director of NIE Networks, said: “Our crews are determined to ensure that everyone impacted by Storm Éowyn gets power back today. Storm Éowyn was an exceptional event. It was the first time that there was a Red weather alert in Northern Ireland and it resulted in one third of all properties losing power.
"I would like to thank everyone who lost power for their patience, particularly those who had no electricity for several days. There was so much damage in so many places it took days for our teams to get power back to everyone.
"We know how important electricity is and how difficult everything becomes when it is gone for a few days.
“We brought in help from everywhere we could at a scale we have never seen before. Massive thanks to our existing partners who raised their game to help us, and to the companies in Great Britain and from across Europe who sailed and flew here to bring power back to the people of Northern Ireland.
"We are grateful to the agencies who helped us as we tried to repair the electricity network and to all of the organisations who worked with us as we tried to support those who were impacted the most when they had no electricity.”
Many circuits, NIE added, will require permanent repairs to be put in place which will mean short periods of disconnection over the coming days and weeks to allow this to be carried out safely.
Derek concluded: “Finally, I want to recognise the effort of all of our teams in NIE Networks. I am very proud of how hard and safely they have all worked. Their effort was determined and compassionate. Our crews in the field showed amazing endurance.
"They are a credit to themselves and their families. Many of them have had very limited family time since the day of Storm Éowyn. The families of our staff know how important it is that we get power back after a storm like this. We know that there will be many more storms in the future and we are so grateful for the support that they give us.
“We will mainly work this week on completing permanent repairs which will require some outages again so that we make sure that the network is safe. Hopefully our teams will get some time at home to rest and spend time with their families.”
On Friday the company revealed its had been “inundated” with calls relating to potential compensation with thousands of customers still without power a week after the storm.
NIE Networks said: "Our leadership team will continue to engage with the Executive, Department for Economy and the Utility Regulator on the question of compensation payments.”