By Oliver Tallis
Cumbrians have been left in the dark both literally and figuratively since communities across the county lost power on Friday.
Almost 100,000 people in the North West have been without electricity since Storm Arwen decimated the power network, with high winds and snow delaying repairs.
With many unable to heat their houses in the snow, cook warm food or take hot showers the situation has been dire.
Yet the main anger is directed at Electricity North West’s lack of communication that has left people guessing if or when power will return.
With food vans and support centres now being set up in larger towns and villages like Alston and Coniston, smaller and more isolated settlements have reported radio silence from the power company.
Harold and Judith Harrison, who are both in their late 70s, live on a small unnamed road between Ivegill and Stockdalewath and have not had electricity for around 90 hours.
“We’ve had no contact at all,” said Mr Harrison.
“The complete absence of Electricity North West to keep us adequately informed of has been frankly unbearable.”
Their daughter, who lives in Manchester, looked at the electricity firm’s website’s postcode checker which yesterday said power had been restored to Mr and Mrs Harrison.
Something that was clearly not the case.
This anger was mirrored by Valerie Abraham and her husband Reginald.
Aged 73, she also has been without power in her remote Matterdale cottage.
Roads impassable
Due to heavy snowfall, she said the roads have been impassable and they are without heat.
“It’s a dire situation,” she said. “It’s the not knowing that is the worst.
“If we knew it was going to be off for two weeks we could do something but it could be hours, it could be days, we just don’t know.
“All the people that Electricity North West employ and nobody has been able to contact us. It’s startling.”
No reply
Having written to customer support and the CEO, she said she has not received a reply from the electricity company.
She also said she called MP Dr Neil Hudson’s office yesterday, which informed her Electricity North West would be making a welfare call.
No such call has been made.
Stephanie Trubshaw, Electricity North West’s incident manager and customer director: “We understand the frustrations customers are experiencing and we want to reassure them we are doing everything possible to get power supplies back on as quickly as possible.
“Providing an accurate time for restoration has been a priority for us, but it was important for us to understand the extent of the damage to the network to be able to provide this information.
“Because the damage is so widespread, it means some customers will remain off supply for a few more days. We encourage those customers to make alternative arrangements where possible and we are continuing to proactively reach out to our customers who may be in particularly vulnerable circumstances.”
Overnight the company’s online power cut list has been updated with estimated times of restorations given for the areas still without electricity.
Engineers working into the night
Hundreds of engineers have worked into the night carrying out vital repairs and resources have been drafted in from the south.
A spokesman added that the company’s contact centre has received 60,000 calls since Friday – normally fielding about 30,000 a month.
With the company struggling to reconnect power and keep people informed Tim Farron, MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale has called for the army to be drafted in to fix the crisis.
He said that while he understood engineers were working around the clock, further immediate action is needed.
If a fault is not listed on the website, they can call our contact centre on 105.
To view up to date power cut information, visit: www.enwl.co.uk
*12.40pm – Supply has now been restored to Valerie Abraham and her husband Reginald.
