Thousands to receive Storm Arwen power cut compensation

A power firm is to pay out more than £1m in additional compensation to customers cut off for more than 48 hours by Storm Arwen.

Scottish Power Energy Networks (SPEN) said about 8,000 people would receive £150 on top of statutory payments.

Most homes across the area it covers in southern and central Scotland have now been reconnected.

In Aberdeenshire, Scottish and Southern Energy Networks (SSEN) said about 1,600 homes were still without power.

Most are expected to have their supplies restored on Friday but a some will be reconnected on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the power networks' response to the damage caused by Storm Arwen is to be be reviewed by energy regulator Ofgem.

SPEN said it was offering the additional payment as an apology for the disruption caused.

At the peak of Storm Arwen's impact it said more than 200,000 customers were affected in the areas it covers - Fife, Lothian and Borders, Dumfries and Galloway, Cheshire and North and Mid Wales.

SPEN chief executive Frank Mitchell said it was "incredibly grateful" to customers for their patience.

"Our engineers have worked daily from first light until the small hours to make repairs as quickly and as safely as they could, and I'm hugely proud of their efforts," he said.

The additional payment is on top of statutory compensation with homes cut off for six days receiving nearly £800.

Kirsten Bax, who lives near Thornhill in Dumfries and Galloway, went without power for four nights and welcomed the news.

"I think that's fair, but they haven't communicated that well," she said. "It will help with Christmas."

Artist Meg Scarborough is among those who were badly affected by the Storn Arwen power cuts.

She runs a cattery in Foulden in the Scottish Borders which went five nights without electricity.

"We had nine cats in during the storm, luckily the cattery itself is extremely protected so the cats didn't seem to be too bothered," she said. "We were having to fill up hot water bottles to put in cat beds as that was the only way to keep them warm."

"Scottish Power would send us updates every day saying we should expect power back in our homes by 16:00, then pushed back to 22:00 and every day we waited and it never happened," she said.

"It made us feel very helpless, especially as a lot of the people in the village are elderly or disabled."

She said her village felt "forgotten about" but had rallied round to help with a nearby community larder staying open late to offer hot drinks and charging points.

Read more about the experiences of people affected by the power cuts here.

In north east Scotland, SSEN's latest update said 1,600 customers were still without power - particularly in the Banchory/Aboyne area.

The company said the vast majority should have supplies restored on Friday but 500 were expected to have to wait until Saturday.

Mark Rough, director of operations, said their teams were making progress towards reconnecting the final homes still affected.

He said they were deploying additional resources to support restoration efforts in Aberdeenshire.

Military personnel have been drafted in to help the recovery effort in the area.

The Ministry of Defence said 134 personnel were deployed on Thursday to support the ongoing operation.