DNOs fulfil mutual aid commitment to assist ENW

Distribution Network Operators fulfilled their commitment to offer mutual aid following the flood damage to Electricity North West’s (ENW) network by storm Desmond at the weekend.

Several networks offered generators and engineers to ENW under the longstanding arrangements for mutual aid agreed to by networks, as ENW battled flood water to restore power to more than 50,000 customers after the weekend’s storms.

Northern Powergrid provided 13 engineers from the south of its patch to work through the night on Sunday to connect generators and help ENW restore power to customers. And a second 18-strong team from the network has been supporting ENW from this morning as it continues to restore power in Cumbria.

Northern Powergrid said it is “continuing to work with ENW via the mutual agreement and NEWSAC calls to explore other ways we can support their restoration effort.”

UK Power Networks (UKPN), chair of the NEWSAC mutual aid process sent more than 20 generators to help power restoration, as well as making several teams from both its eastern and southern networks available to offer assistance.

National Grid donated sandbags and equipment to ENW and the emergency services while SSE offered to provide large capacity generators and the technicians to install them.

ENWs ongoing efforts to reconnect all of its customers is being hampered by continuing flooding at local substations, preventing engineers from gaining access to repair “extensive” damage.

The NEWSAC agreement aims to allow customers to be reconnected as quickly as possibly by sharing man power and resources between networks. All electricity networks are able to issue a request to fellow companies when in need.

Northern Powergrid’s head of network operations Rod Gardner said: “The impact of Storm Desmond has been huge and we wanted to offer support, through the expertise of our people, to help Electricity North West get the power back on for its customers as safely and quickly as possible.”