25 January 2025
NIE Networks have urged the public to stay well clear of any damaged electricity equipment as Storm Eowyn has had a devastating impact on the electricity network.
Derek Hynes, Managing Director for NIE Networks, advised: “We are getting reports of members of the public coming into contact with electricity equipment in their bid to help restoration efforts. This includes cutting trees without realising that there are live power lines in contact with the trees and reports of people rolling up lines.
There is a serious risk of harm to the public so we would again appeal for the public to stay well clear of any power lines or other equipment you may come across. Be mindful that trees and other infrastructure could be in contact with live power lines even if not immediately obvious.”
As of 11:00am approximately 185,000 homes remain without power and NIE Networks teams are working to make the network safe and restore power to as many customers as possible. At its peak Storm Eowyn caused around 30% of all premises in Northern Ireland to lose power due to the high gusts.
NIE Networks will restore power to the vast majority of homes and businesses over the coming days. However, the scale of the damage means it will take many days before all customers have power restored. Weather conditions and the ability to access locations will continue to be challenging along with further wind warnings over the weekend.
Derek Hynes, Managing Director of NIE Networks, explained: “Storm Eowyn has caused devastating levels of damage to the electricity network in Northern Ireland. At this early stage, we believe that there are well over 4,000 locations in Northern Ireland where our network has been damaged by the wind or falling trees. Each of these locations will need to be visited. Right now we are prioritising hazard faults followed by those with are affecting the largest numbers of homes and businesses. It is likely that it will take us around ten days to get to the final locations and restore power to those residents. We continue to work with government and other agencies to try to provide information to the most vulnerable in our society as we work through a long restoration effort.
At this stage we have been able to restore power to 100,000 families and will continue to work over the weekend to assess the scale of the damage, and to update estimated restoration times on our website. We will keep going until everyone has their power back.”
For the next couple of days I remain concerned that there will be fallen poles and wires in public areas. Please do not approach any electricity equipment and be extra careful around fallen trees as they often take electricity poles and wires with them as they fall. Please call us if you see anything that looks dangerous on 03457 643 643.
Customers can also report a power cut online using the link below
Report A Power Cut