The majority of these customers were reconnected by the electricity distribution network operators (DNOs) within hours, but some faced Christmas day without power.
UK Power Networks, which had the worst affected network, said it had to deal with the equivalent of six weeks worth of damage to its network that was caused in just a few hours, and more than 300,000 homes experienced power cuts across its networks. Southern Electric Power Distribution (SEPD) and Western Power Distribution (WPD) also suffered in the December storms, reporting supply interruptions to 130,000 and 120,000 properties respectively.
Chair of the Energy and Climate Change select committee (ECCC), Tim Yeo, already had the DNOs in his sights after he claimed they “can get away with murder and they probably do” due to a lack of scrutiny.
The ECCC is understood to be planning an inquiry into the electricity networks, but a one-off hearing is due to take place examining the DNOs’ responses to December’s storm.
Yeo told Utility Week that this hearing is the start of an ongoing public scrutiny into the transmission and distribution networks.
“Because consumers don’t pay bills directly to them, they don’t get what you might call the tabloid scrutiny which the big six do.
“I think we do need to see whether we are bearing down on their costs sufficiently.”
Some of the key themes the ECCC will explore include the role of the distribution companies, their charges, and whether there is an opportunity to introduce competition into the sector.
The ECCC inquiry will take a closer look at the DNOs’ contingency plans and response to the pre-Christmas storms “because it is a very topical issue of national importance”, according to Yeo.
One of the areas he said the DNOs can improve upon is their communication with homeowners in these types of situations.
“I think the distress and inconvenience customers suffer is greatly aggravated if they are not given up to date, accurate and timely information.
“The whole psychology of the situation can be greatly improved if people are given information on a regular basis.”
Another issue Yeo highlighted the ECCC will discuss is compensation and whether the statutory minimum payment of £27 for customers who are without power for more than 48 hours – and the £75 UKPN offered customers in its network area – is a suitable amount.
Yeo added: “I think it (£75) is still a bit on the low side myself.
“If you’ve got a house full of people that suffers a power loss for more than 24 hours, the extra cost you’re likely to incur to have any quality of life during that period is likely to be quite expensive.”
However, the ECCC chair was keen to stress that the inquiry is “not meant to be an antagonistic hearing” and that the “most important thing is to try and get to find ways to minimise the risk of this happening again”.
The DNOs all have contingency plans in place for events such as these, although Basil Scarsella, chief executive at UKPN, told the Mail on Sunday the response was not as fast as it could have been as many staff were on holiday, adding “we could and should have done more”.
The DNOs’ emergency procedures and contingency measures is something the ECCC will question, although Mark Mathieson, the managing director at SEPD said the company “felt very prepared” for the storms but added “we cannot wave a magic wand when major weather events hit”.
The Energy Networks Association (ENA) said the companies have “very robust plans in place to deal with these sorts of weather conditions” but that the issue was that despite these “you can’t predict exactly where the damage is going to happen”.
An ENA spokesperson said “obviously it being the Christmas period put a lot of strain on the situation” but added that equipment, vehicles and people were put in strategic places, engineers were put on standby, and staff even worked from home to man call centre hotlines.
“The main factor that meant people were without power for that length of time was the flood water.”
The ENA said that a review of the response to the power cuts will take place “across the industry” to assess what improvements can be made to the contingency planning but at the moment “it’s too early as we’re still dealing with the aftermath and dealing with the damage”.