Thousands of homes are still without power across the north and north east this morning following the gale force winds of Storm Isha.
Ferocious weather swept across Scotland overnight causing major outages in some places.
The storm brought with it an amber warning for wind which was increased to a red warning with gusts reaching as high as 80mph.
Weather conditions turned more severe than initially forecast with the very rare red win warning issued overnight for the north and north-east for the first time since Storm Arwen.
Thousands of homes still without power across the north
Caithness, Inverness-shire and Orkney were among some of the worst affected places.
Storm-force winds have caused damage to the overhead network, where trees and wind-borne debris have come into contact with power lines.
More than 20,000 homes were without power last night as the storm reached its peak at around 3am.
As of 8.45am today, supplies were restored to more than 17,500 customers, according to SSEN.
10,500 properties are still currently without.
Postcodes across the north and north-east which are still affected:
IV1
AB41
AB54 and AB45
PH26
More than 17,000 homes restored
Teams worked throughout the night to safely respond to faults and restore power remotely where possible.
Crews of linespeople and tree cutters were deployed at first light to fully assess damage and work to repair and replace power lines.
Andy Smith, Operations Director at SSEN Distribution, said: “We have been tracking the forecast for Storm Isha for the past week, and given the severity of the winds predicted, we have scaled-up our response appropriately to meet the challenge we’re facing.
“From first light this morning our teams have been carrying out line patrols to assess the full extent of any damage to our network. This work will continue through the day, enabling us to target our repairs in the right location and provide our customers with estimated restoration times. The latest information will be displayed on our Power Track app.”
“I’d like to reassure everyone we are doing everything we can to restore power as quickly and safely as possible. We’re working closely with resilience partners to support our customers’ welfare. I’d also encourage anyone who may need additional support to contact our dedicated teams on our power cut helpline, 105.”
