31 January 2003 00:00 EME engineers bring 26,000 Lincolnshire customers back on power as conditions ease

Engineers from East Midlands Electricity have worked through freezing conditions to get 26,000 Lincolnshire homes back on power so far today.

EME has 170 engineers in the field in the county, with hundreds of staff called in to offer them support, and have also called on the services of a helicopter to spot downed power lines.

Bob Taylor, Managing Director of EME, said: “Our engineers have done a fantastic job to get so many people back on power in such difficult conditions.

“We remain hopeful that the vast majority of people will be back on power by the end of the day but there are inevitably going to be a few clusters here and there who might be off for longer.

“My message to them is that we’ll be working round the clock to make sure we get you back on as quickly as possible.”

At the height of the storm around 36,000 homes were left without power. EME sent engineers from other counties to Lincolnshire but reconnection efforts were hampered by gale force winds and driving snow. Once conditions eased, the engineers went out but faced the same treacherous driving conditions as everyone else in Lincolnshire.

Bob Taylor said: “One of our main priorities has been to keep our staff and our customers safe. We’re very aware that there could be fallen lines or broken transformers out there and we’d just like to make sure that people realise that they shouldn’t touch them.

“If you spot something like that then let us know and we’ll come out and deal with it as soon as we can.”

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

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For more information contact:

Jonathan Smith on 024 7642 5741