02 February 2005 00:00 Central Networks engineers fly to Sweden to help get the lights back on after hurricane

Central Networks, the electricity distribution for central England, has sent a team of 40 to Sweden to help colleagues there get the lights back on after a hurricane smashed through its electricity network.

Nearly 400,000 homes were left without electricity when the hurricane hit the south of Sweden on January 8. Since then, Sydkraft, the Swedish electricity and power company and a sister company of Central Networks, has been working around the clock to restore the 20,000 customers still off supply.

More than 100 workers from Finland, Denmark, Norway and Germany are already in Sweden helping Sydkraft get the lights back on, and they will now be joined by a team from Central Networks.

Mark Cullen, Operations Manager at Central Networks, said: “An SOS went out across our group and we immediately responded – the situation in Sweden was clearly much worse than anything we see in the UK and it was vital that we get engineers on the ground to help as quickly as we could.

“We’ve sent out an experienced team of engineers, linesmen, drivers and managers and we’re confident that we can make a big difference to the situation.”

The team has gone out there fully prepared and took with them a fleet of essential equipment, including four JCBs, 10 Land Rovers and three specialist 4x4 vehicles. TNT, the company’s logistics supplier, have also provided one 4x4 lorry and two articulated lorries full of materials and equipment.

Some homes in Sweden have been without power for nearly a month and, because of the damage, homes may still be without electricity for weeks to come.

“It’s a challenging task ahead and the Swedish customers are being incredibly patient” said Mark.

“We’ve already been out to assess the damage and it’s very extensive. As soon as they arrived, our engineers hit the ground running and worked alongside our European colleagues to repair the network.”

The vehicles were transported across to Sweden via a freight ferry and the teams flew out on Monday (JAN 31). They are expected to be in Sweden for at least three to four weeks.

Ends

Notes to editors:
•Central Networks is owned by E.ON UK, the company that owns Powergen. E.ON UK is part of E.ON AG, the world’s largest privately owned investor-owned utility company, which has its headquarters in Germany;
•Central Networks is the new name for Midlands Electricity and East Midlands Electricity. The company brings power to 4.8 million customers across the East and West Midlands through 133,000km of underground and overhead cables and via almost 97,000 substations;
•Central Networks covers an area from the Peak District in the north to parts of Bristol in the south, and from the Welsh Borders to the Lincolnshire Coast.

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Please call Rebecca Middleton 024 7642 5779