22 January 2007 00:00 UPDATE – Less than 100 customers off in West Midlands, 1,200 in East Midlands – 0700hrs

Central Networks engineers have worked through their fourth night to bring all but 1,300 customers affected by the bad weather on Thursday, Friday or Saturday back on power.

Those remaining without power are in small pockets spread across the various counties but engineers are out in the field again this morning and are aiming to get everyone back on by the end of the day.

Jim Lightfoot, Director of Operations and Asset Management, said: “The severe gale force winds of Thursday were one of the worst storms to hit our region in recent years and that played absolute havoc with our equipment.

“We can only apologise to those customers who have been affected for such a long time but I can also assure them that we’ve been doing everything we can to get them back on and will continue to do so until the last fault is fixed and the last home is back on power.”

County Approximate numbers
Coventry & Warwickshire 0
Derbyshire 400
Gloucestershire 0
Herefordshire and Worcestershire 50
Leicestershire 0
Lincolnshire 500
Northamptonshire 0
Nottinghamshire 350
Shropshire 0
Staffordshire 20
West Midlands 25


Customers are advised to stay away from any fallen power cables that they might come across and to let Central Networks know locations. Central Networks can be contacted on 0800 056 8090 (East Midlands) or 0800 328 1111 (West Midlands).

Ends

Notes to editors
* Power industry regulator Ofgem’s severe weather compensation rules for customers are now in operation. Customers who have been off power for 48 continuous hours will receive £25, with a further £25 for every continuous 12 hours thereafter, to a maximum of £200;
* Central Networks will contact all customers who qualify for compensation directly;
* Anyone who believes they have suffered genuine hardship as a result of exceptional circumstances should write to Customers Operations Manager, Central Networks, PO Box 7115, Castle Donington DE74 2TU with details of their claim;
* Central Networks is the electricity distribution company for central England, distributing electricity to 4.9m customers.

The media can call the below numbers for more information:
Jonathan Smith on 024 7618 3676
Rebecca Middleton on 024 7618 3677
ISDN is available on 024 7642 5147