24 July 2007 12:10 Central Networks restores power to customers in Gloucestershire and thanks armed forces and emergency services for help

Central Networks engineers worked through the night to restore power to over 14,000 homes left without electricity in Gloucestershire after its Castle Mead substation flooded early yesterday (MON 23) morning.

From Sunday afternoon, Central Networks engineers have been working closely with the emergency services and the armed forces to erect an emergency flood defence and pump water away from the substation.

Due to rising flood waters early Monday morning, the company took the decision on safety grounds to take over 40,000 customers off supply to minimise damage to the substation. This enabled us to restore power more quickly once the water had been pumped out.

Over 25,000 homes and businesses had power restored through the day on Monday with the final customers coming back on at 01.45am this morning (TUE 24).

Managing Director of Central Networks, John Crackett, said: "It has been a fantastic team effort. I'd personally like to thank our entire team - both the office based employees and our engineers in the field. It's been a tremendous effort and the armed forces and emergency services have done a terrific job in helping us restore power to thousands of homes in the region and safeguarding the substation under very challenging conditions.

"Our engineers and the emergency and armed services all worked around the clock to put in place the flood barrier. We were then able to pump water out of the site that reached a level of 2.5 feet and switch the power back on.

"That said, water levels still remain very high around the outside of the flood barrier and we'll continue to monitor the situation in the coming days and pump water away from the substation if needed.

"In addition, our engineers will be thoroughly assessing the substation equipment damaged by flood waters today. They will look to repair the affected kit and bring more of it online to further reinforce supplies to our customers in the area."

Central Networks, which is part of E.ON UK, will continue to work with Army, Navy, emergency services and the Environmental Agency to monitor the situation and keep water out of the substation over the coming days.

The company is continuing to co-ordinate its efforts with Gold Command - the multi-agency group co-ordinating the relief and restoration efforts.

Ends

Notes to editors:

• Central Networks is the new name for Midlands Electricity and East Midlands Electricity. The company brings power to 4.9 million customers across central England 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 Boarders to the Lincolnshire Coast.
• Click here to see Live Network Information: http://eon-uk.com/distribution/livenetworkmap.aspx

For more information contact:

Rebecca Middleton 02476 183677

Jane Branscombe 02476 183681

Deanna Mooney 02476 183678

 

Out of hours please call 024 7642 4000 and ask to speak to the duty Press Officer