31 January 2003 00:00 EME engineers bring 20,000 Lincolnshire customers back on power as helicopter searches for faults – 1130hrs

Engineers from East Midlands Electricity have been battling to bring Lincolnshire customers back on power after blizzard conditions affected thousands of homes in the county.
And the company has now brought in a helicopter, which will be over Lincolnshire searching for faults and guiding engineers to the scene.

At the height of the storm around 36,000 customers were left without power but, after EME engineers worked through freezing conditions, 20,000 homes have had their power returned. Of the remaining homes without electricity, the majority are in East Lincolnshire.

Bob Taylor, Managing Director of EME, said: “Now the weather’s improved our engineers are clearly winning the battle.
“We’re hopeful that we’ll be able to get everyone back on power by the end of the day and we’d ask all of our customers to bear with us.

“We’ve got over 170 engineers on the ground and hundreds of people supporting them.

Many of the engineers have been transferred into Lincolnshire from other areas and have been in the county since yesterday afternoon – and I can guarantee that they’ll be doing everything they can to get everyone back on as quickly as possible.”
EME engineers have been facing the same conditions as drivers in the area, with treacherous road conditions adding to delays in restoration.

“Part of the problem overnight was that it simply wasn’t safe to send our guys up poles or out to string up new electricity lines,” said Bob Taylor.

“As soon as conditions eased, we got them out and they’ve done a fantastic job in getting so many people back on so quickly.”

To report danger or damage people should ring 0800 056 8090.

Ends
For more information contact:
Janet Morrow on 024 7642 5779
Jonathan Smith on 024 7642 5741