London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

Ofgem releases report in to storm that left 1 million homes without power - as UK braces for Storm Eunice

Ofgem releases report in to storm that left 1 million homes without power - as UK braces for Storm Eunice

Wait times for some customers to contact their operator were unacceptably high, findings from the regulator and government show

As Storm Eunice barrels towards the South West of England, the UK's energy watchdog has issued an initial report on the impact of Storm Arwen last November, which left more than a million homes without power.

Ofgem found that network operators were hard to reach in the aftermath of the storm, with many customers waiting indefinitely on hold to customer support lines, slow to pay compensation, and potentially gave inaccurate estimations for how long it would take for power to be restored.

More than 4,000 homes were still without power some 10 days after Storm Arwen struck.

"Looking ahead to the publication of the final report in Spring 2022, we will be undertaking further analysis to establish clear lessons for improvement, including a programme of consumer research exploring the experiences of customers that endured a prolonged outage," Ofgem said in its report.

"We will also draw on evidence to determine whether the companies breached any of their statutory obligations or licence conditions, potentially leading to enforcement action."

Ofgem can impose financial penalties of up to 10% of a licensee's turnover, make consumer redress orders and issue provisional or final orders for breaches of relevant conditions and requirements under the Gas Act 1986 and the Electricity Act 1989.

The regulator's findings are especially pertinent as the UK braces for winds of up to 70mph and gusts reaching 100mph - with Storm Eunice among the most fierce storms of the last 30 years - while more than 20,000 homes were left without power following Storm Dudley last week.

Northern Powergrid said 1,000 properties still had no lights on Thursday morning due to the weather.

Fallen trees are seen on a road in Little Hay, north Birmingham, as Storm Dudley hits many areas across the UK. Storm Dudley is to be closely followed by Storm Eunice, which will bring strong winds and the possibility of snow on Friday.


"Our teams have restored power to some 19,000 homes and businesses impacted by Storm Dudley, and we are working to get the lights back on for around 1,000 properties still affected," a spokesperson said.

A related investigation by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) into 2021's Storm Arwen made similar findings to Ofgem's report.

The government found that wait times for some customers to contact their network operator were unacceptably high, and recommended that more needed to be done to manage both the method and content of customer communications effectively during severe events.

It also acknowledged that there were unacceptably long power cuts to some households, especially those in rural areas, and recommended finding ways to reduce the length of time customers remain off supply following severe and widespread power disruption.

Lastly, it recommended that new processes should be established to ensure payment of compensation to affected customers happens immediately, and is not delayed.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
After 200,000 Orders in 2 Minutes: Xiaomi Accelerates Marketing in Europe
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
Taylor Swift on the Way to the Super Bowl? All the Clues Stirring Up Fans
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Apple Expands Social Media Presence in China With RedNote Account Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Bill Barr Testifies No Evidence Implicated Trump in Epstein Case; DOJ Set to Release Records
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
Emails Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
JPMorgan Plans New Canary Wharf Tower
Zelenskyy and his allies say they will press Trump on security guarantees
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
The Drought in Britain and the Strange Request from the Government to Delete Old Emails
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
"No, Thanks": The Mathematical Genius Who Turned Down 1.5 Billion Dollars from Zuckerberg
The surprising hero, the ugly incident, and the criticism despite victory: "Liverpool’s defense exposed in full"
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
×