Corporate inhospitality

The Scottish Affairs Select Committee recently criticised Scottish network operators for their handling of winter storms. Here we look at the difficulties of operating in particularly tough regions in extreme weather, and at how the companies involved are responding

Keeping in kilter with Balfour Beatty

Ensuring the lights stay on in the cold, dark months of winter is nowhere more of an issue than in Scotland, where inhospitable conditions can leave roads impassable for days and whole areas cut off.

Torness nuclear power station is part of EDF Energy’s portfolio, and provides around 9TWh of power to the national grid annually. Its location on the east coast of Scotland, some 30 miles from Edinburgh, ensures that operational staff are often exposed to exceptionally changeable and challenging weather conditions. For example, in 2009, temperatures on site did not reach above 10 degrees Celsius for the entirety of December, and sometimes reached as low as -12 degrees Celsius. Along with the extreme cold came record snowfall, on occasion reaching 100cm.

Balfour Beatty Workplace (BBW) provides a full range of facilities management services across the EDF estate, including an onsite emergency response team for Torness. The team undertakes operationally essential tasks during cold weather, including snow clearance, gritting, leak containment, and managing removal of marine waste.

BBW operations co-ordinator David Marshall recalls: “In some of the worst weather the area had experienced in 30 years, police advice was not to travel… [but] we had to respond to callout requests. For the team this meant that even getting to work was a challenge, with snow chains and tractors pressed into service. Working over the entirety of the Christmas period, priority was given to the clearance of emergency routes, ensuring that in the unlikely event of an emergency the power station was not inaccessible. This was followed by the clearing of site access roads and main paths, enabling all staff to continue working as normal.”

Scottish transmission and distribution networks also have to have effective plans in place for repairs in the event of them being damaged by severe weather. Last winter was one of the worst in recent memory, with storms battering much of the country and leaving more than 105,000 homes without power in the Fort William area. Trying to reach some of the most remote areas of the country during these conditions was a considerable challenge for teams from Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions’ overhead line division. ­Mobilising resource equipment from around the country, 43 linesmen and engineers travelled to Scotland to effect repairs, which took place in further bad weather.

Having a flexible, mobile workforce was also key when an insulator was damaged on a tower on the remote Inverarnan to Windyhill overhead line route during the same winter. Getting labour and equipment to the site required the use of specialist tracked vehicles and helicopters, while the repairs themselves took place in 165mph winds.

Both of these repairs were carried out in terrible conditions, tight time frames, and with no safety incidents. Our first priority is always the safety of our people, and significant work went into establishing bespoke work methodologies that took the extreme conditions into account. But there are always things we can learn for the next time a fault occurs. Going into this winter, these lessons will be vital in ensuring we can once again provide a fast and effective response.

Liam Cave, director of operations, overhead line transmission, at Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions

Peak practice at Electricity North West

We at Electricity North West help protect the five million people we serve from the impact of power cuts caused by extreme weather through a combination of proactive maintenance and efficient communication.

Over the past year, we have invested more than £20 million in maintaining and refurbishing the overhead power network to help ensure its reliability throughout winter. Our programme includes replacing ageing poles and steelwork where necessary to make the overhead network more resilient to the effects of high winds, snow and ice. We’ve also invested an additional £7 million in remote control and automation to improve restoration times to customers while we are mobilising resources to repair faults.

Our 4×4 fleet allows engineers to access remote rural areas from Cumbria to the Peak District. Our bespoke modifications to some of our new vehicles means they’re specifically tailored to the demanding tasks involved in maintaining the network. Modifications include increased space for kit, improved towing ability and integrated winches – which can become essential for use in severe ice and snow.

Engineers and contact centre staff regularly take part in vital emergency incident training exercises to ensure they are fully prepared to respond immediately and restore supplies as quickly as possible if customers do lose power due to bad weather.

With a full team of in-house arborists, we prune trees throughout the year to prevent power cuts caused by branches falling and encroaching on the overhead power lines. By liaising with landowners, we ensure that any pruning is done considerately and does not affect the trees’ long-term growth.

We also provide practical and personal support to vulnerable customers in case they do find themselves without power due to faults caused by particularly severe conditions. Vulnerable customers, including some older or disabled people or those with a medical dependency on electricity, can sign up to Electricity North West’s priority services register.

Assistance is tailored to the individual customer’s needs – from a reassuring voice at the other end of the phone to house visits delivering a hot meal and drink. We also provide a vital “customer emergency pack” which includes a wind-up torch, fleece gloves and a blanket to help people keep warm.

Susan Stockwell is customer director at Electricity North West

This article first appeared in Utility Week’s print edition of 28th September 2012.

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