Storm Arwen: 'Exhausting' fifth night without power for tens of thousands

Households in the north of England enduring a fifth day of power cuts could be facing further delays to their supplies after Storm Arwen hit.

Northern Powergrid said 15,000 homes were still off, and about 6,000 Electricity North West customers are also without power.

The delay in getting homes reconnected was raised in the House of Commons by MPs from some worst-affected areas.

The business secretary said it was the biggest disruption since 2005.

Earlier the Labour MP for Durham, Mary Kelly Foy, told the Commons some of her constituents were "actually facing a full seven days without heating or electricity, and this is a national scandal".

Thousands of people without power have been left feeling "forgotten", Tim Farron, Westmorland and Lonsdale MP, said.

Northern Powergrid described the damage as "unprecedented".

Electricity North West said it had reconnected more than 101,000 properties but, as repairs were made, more faults had been discovered.

However, the firm did say it expected all customers to be reconnected by Friday.

The Energy Networks Association (ENA) has urged powerless customers to make alternative arrangements for accommodation, by staying with friends or family wherever possible.

Tony and Nicola Hills, from Kirkby Lonsdale, who have five children aged under 10, have been without power at both their home and business since Friday.

"We are priority customers but haven't been informed about updates and, even though I phoned ENW to report the power cut at 06:26 on Saturday, they didn't recognise our fault until Monday," Mr Hills said.

Cathy Johnson, who works in a Kendal café, said she had seen more people coming in from outlying areas.

She said "The store café where I work has seen a lot of people coming in to warm up, get a hot drink, eat some soup or a toastie, and especially charge their mobile phones."

Gemma Douglas, from West Allerdean in Northumberland, said there were many people without help, which was "scary and worrying".

"It has been exhausting trying to keep warm and cook - it's hard work," the 39-year-old project development officer said.

"Where we live, there is no back-up system, we're on our own."

In Parliament, Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said it was the most severe disruption since 2005 and sought to reassure people who were "exhausted, worried or angry" that everyone was working "incredibly hard" to get the power back on.

He added 150 generators had so far been provided by Electricity North West.

Conservative North West Durham MP Richard Holden said thousands of his constituents were without power for days, including a secondary school.

He said a rural surgery had "lost £10,000 worth of vaccines for the flu jab" due to its fridges having no power and called for the Department of Health to help reimburse them.

He added: "There are some very isolated communities who have been told it may be a very long time before they can get full electricity. Can he do everything possible to ensure they are reconnected well before Christmas?"

Mr Kwarteng said he would be looking at the issue on a "daily basis", adding: "Being without power until Christmas is simply unacceptable, I'll say that publicly, and I'll do everything I can to make sure that that doesn't happen."

Jayme Yates-Bell, from Kendal, has diabetes and kidney failure and said the situation she faced was "really challenging".

"We need to know how long we're going to be like this," she said.

"I've got a fridge with my medicine in that's now probably useless."

A spokesperson for the ENA said: "Supporting and reconnecting customers is our absolute priority and our customer teams are working around the clock to contact customers and keep them informed."

Northern Powergrid said customers would be eligible for compensation.

A payment of £70 per household had been set for the first 24 hours of power loss or 48 if conditions had been severe, as well as £70 for every additional 12-hour period without power.

However, payouts are capped at £700.

Follow BBC North East & Cumbria on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].

How have you been affected by the power cuts? Email [email protected].

Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways:

If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at [email protected]. Please include your name, age and location with any submission.