When Jamie Moses’ four-year-old son woke his dad at 3am to say he was freezing, all they could do was try and wrap him in more blankets. The family are just one of thousands in Wales who have been without power since 3am on Saturday morning.
That was the moment Storm Darragh brought down the main power lines near their home in Heol y Glyn, Cymmer, near Port Talbot. There has been no power since then, and residents are concerned that it will take several days more to be restored.
As of 2pm on Tuesday, December 10, National Grid said that 11,855 properties are off supply in South Wales. Since the beginning of the storm, we have restored over 680,000 properties in the region. They have said that they hope to have the power restored to the Cymmer area by lunchtime on Wednesday.
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But Jamie, 36, says: “This situation has left our community cold, hungry, and utterly neglected. While other areas have been provided with generators to restore basic amenities, Heol y Glyn has once again been overlooked and left to fend for itself.
“The consequences of this neglect are devastating. Families have no hot water or heating, perishable food has been ruined, and vulnerable individuals, including disabled residents and small children, are struggling to cope with freezing temperatures. Temporary solutions, such as directing people to use gym showers or libraries to stay warm, are impractical and fail to address the urgent needs of families, especially during the night when the cold is most severe. When my boy woke in the middle of the night to say he was freezing it was heartbreaking.”
Jamie has bought some gas stoves but has gone through 16 cans in two days -Credit:John Myers
He says the lack of communication and decisive action is “unacceptable” and asked how much longer it would go on for, adding: “To make matters worse, this crisis has torn the Christmas spirit from our community. With no power and no immediate solutions, the festive season has been overshadowed by hardship and frustration. We feel abandoned and forgotten.” Join our WhatsApp news community here for the latest breaking news. You will receive updates from us daily.
Tina Walters, from Sunnyside, Cymmer, has also felt the struggle as she is the main carer for her 87-year-old husband Morgan who has Parkinson’s.
She said: “My husband has a hospital bed, but without the power I wasn’t able to lift him which meant I couldn’t get him changed. I tried to get help but they said he might have to go into hospital. After two days we were given a generator which had made all the difference.
“I am just glad he didn’t have to go to hospital and we are still able to care for him at home.”
Morgan Walters has Parkinson’s -Credit:John Myers
A spokesperson for National Grid said that their teams have been out working around the clock. They said: “We have thousands of personnel deployed in the field working on restoration. Storm Darragh was the most severe storm our regions have seen in decades.
“Where customers are waiting to be reconnected, it has either been too dangerous for our teams to carry out work, or there have been other obstacles, such as flooding, limiting our access to power lines. We’d like to thank them for their patience and understanding as we work to reconnect them.”
Karen Morgan has been without since Saturday -Credit:John Myers
They added: “We have been deploying partners and our own resources to support customers without power. The Red Cross have been working with us since Saturday, we have been deploying generators and battery packs for PSR customers, and we have rolled out welfare vehicles at some locations providing warm food and drinks to our customers.
“We are also working with local authorities on warm hubs and community spaces to provide further support. Customers are able to access support and further updates via our social media channels, website and by calling 105 at any time.”
A Neath Port Talbot Council spokesperson said they were doing everything they could to speed things up. They said: “Our thoughts go out to our residents, both in Heol y Glyn and other parts of Neath Port Talbot, who have not yet been able to have their power restored by National Grid. We will do all we can to try to speed things up.”
Adding: “Our Local Area Co-ordinators (council employed community workers) have been in Heol y Glyn over the past few days working with partners including The Wallich, going door-to-door to ensure residents have what they need. Some are being assessed for possible temporary re-housing if the electricity problems continue there.
“Local community spirit in Heol y Glyn has been good with community members and organisations providing soup and other food for those who need it. Local councillors have also been in the area checking on those still without power. In addition, we are directing residents to designated warm spaces located nearby at Cymmer Library, Noddfa Community Centre in Glyncorrwg and Afan Fitness in Cymmer, where they can remain comfortable, charge their phones, and access other essential facilities.
“During Storm Darragh itself, across Neath Port Talbot our ground crews worked tirelessly in atrocious conditions responding to hundreds of calls related to wind damage, cleaning culverts, removing debris, attending to unsafe structures and dealing with more than 150 tree falls.”
In the House of Commons on Tuesday, Plaid Cymru MPs called for an urgent review of resilience measures amid continued disruption to electricity and communications across rural Wales.
During an Urgent Question session granted to Plaid Cymru, Ceredigion Preseli MP, Ben Lake, expressed deep concern about the prolonged power outages, which have left residents without heating, water, or reliable means of communication.
Work is being carried out up mountains to restore power -Credit:John Myers
He thanked engineers to restore power to people and businesses, and thanked emergency services and local authorities for clearing roads and provide support to households.
Mr Lake emphasised that the storm had “brought into very sharp relief just how dependent other key utilities are on electricity: from heating and water supply to mobile phone networks”, and noted that in rural areas, the loss of copper landlines in the recent digital switchover had made it more difficult for rural areas to communicate during extreme weather events.
Engineers working on the power lines near Cymmer -Credit:John Myers
Ben Lake MP said: “This storm left hundreds of thousands of homes without power and disrupted critical infrastructure. We are all grateful to the engineers who have worked tirelessly to restore power to over 1.7 million people under very challenging conditions, and I would also like to pay tribute to the emergency services and local authorities who have worked very hard to clear roads and provide support to households where possible.
“However, I am deeply concerned about the thousands of people still without electricity. This storm has brought into very sharp relief just how dependent other key utilities are on electricity: from heating and water supply to mobile phone networks. The latter concern is compounded in rural areas by the fact that many have lost their copper landlines in the recent digital switchover, and a system that is dependent on mains power supply.”