Thousands of homes are still without power in south Wales following Storm Darragh, National Grid has confirmed. The storm battered the country last weekend, December 6 and 7, causing widespread disruption across the country.
And issues still go on for many, with 4,124 people still without power five days later. National Grid explained how two rare red weather warnings meant the storm hit its operational area in south Wales, the south west and west Midlands with “significant impact” on Saturday, with amber and yellow warnings remained in place until late Sunday evening.
It explained how flooding and blocked roads caused issues on the ground, and that continued high winds restricted its helicopter operations. One person affected is Hazel Lawley, who lives in the Brechfa area of Carmarthenshire, which she described as a “remote rural community with many old and vulnerable people.” For the latest Welsh news delivered to your inbox sign up to our newsletter.
She said: “As this is a rural area, many people use bore holes for their water, which are powered by electric. For many people, it’s five days without power and water. Being a rural community, it takes a 40-minute round trip into Carmarthen to get supplies such as bottled water, due to the rolling deadline where the day and time of reconnection keeps changing (now up to seven times), and involves costly journeys in the car. Unlike Cymmer we have had no support from National Grid. My vulnerable neighbour has not had an update in 24 hours. This is a remote rural community with many old and vulnerable people.”
Overall, National Grid has restored power to 713,805 properties in south Wales. Nationwide, there’s a total of 8,952 properties which remain without power. James Evans MS has questioned Wales’ resilience in the face of ever-increasing winter storms.
Mr Evans said: “I would like to say a big thank you to National Grid staff for quickly restoring power to parts of Mid Wales and to Powys Highways teams for clearing roads in the aftermath of Storm Darragh. However, there are still some isolated areas without power. My thoughts go to those residents who are still without power and those who have been hit badly by flooding. The way in which communities pull together at such tough tines is incredible.
“I question our resilience and the ability to cope with these increasing stormy events. Our phone lines are progressively going digital, meaning they need internet connection and electricity to work. The mobile phone network is often poor and patchy, not just during the storms! This is leaving many residents cut off in their hour of need. An increasing number of organisations and individuals now have electric cars, more and more devices in our home are reliant on electricity. When the power goes out, it comes as a real shock just how reliant our everyday lives are on having an electricity supply.”
National Grid explained how the large majority of customers had power restored within 24 hours. It said it is offering support to customers without power, with more than 200 generators sent to vulnerable customers, adding that it is supplying battery packs, hot food and drinks, and access to warm hubs in the areas worst affected, along with hotel accommodation.
A spokeswoman for National Grid said: “We know losing power is difficult and we are working around the clock to reconnect properties as fast as we can. Generators and battery packs are being supplied to vulnerable customers, we are delivering hot food and drinks in the most impacted areas, and warm hubs have been opened in partnership with Local Authorities. The Red Cross is assisting our own staff in carrying out welfare checks for those without power.
“We have now restored power to more than two million properties across our regions; this is the largest number to have ever needed reconnecting in our service areas after a storm. As of 7pm today, there are approximately 8,952 properties that remain without power, due to the severity of the damage caused by the storm. 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 have more than 1,000 personnel deployed in these areas, and we are working 24 hours a day to bring back power supplies. Customers are able to access support and further updates via our social media channels, website and by calling 105 at any time.” Join our WhatsApp news community here for the latest breaking news. You will receive updates from us daily.