ENW to switch Lancaster back to grid power tonight

Electricity North West (ENW) is set to switch 23,000 customers in Lancaster back to the grid this evening after repair work at the main substation in the area is completed.

The customers are currently being powered by 70 generators after River Lune burst its banks and flooded the main substation on Saturday night.

The switch-over will take place between five pm and midnight this evening. ENW said customers being switched will lose power for up to 30 minutes while the process is taking place.

ENW operations director Mark Williamson said: “We provided generators to ensure homes and businesses had power and tomorrow evening we will be able to start reconnecting all our customers back to the main grid and back to a normal robust supply.

“We are contacting customers in advance and we understand that there is never a convenient time to be without power, but this work is being carried out at the earliest time possible and will ensure customers are fully reconnected.

Meanwhile in Cumbria around 1,000 properties remain without power six days after the weekend’s flooding as ENW engineers undertake door-to-door safety checks on equipment to ensure it is safe to restore power.

ENW said this is an “incredibly complicated coordination exercise” as it requires customers, many of whom have left the area, to return to their homes to allow access to the engineers.

ENW has also warned that many of these customers still to be reconnected will require private electricians to carry out safety checks on wiring and may also need a need electricity meter.

More than 50,000 customers lost power in the Lancaster and Cumbria regions at the weekend after storm Desmond hit on Saturday night, flooding many of the areas substations.