UK Power Networks offers to almost triple payouts to worst-off victims of harsh weather, as flood warnings remain in place
One of the UK's biggest power distributors is to almost triple its compensation for those affected by long-term power cuts as a result of the Christmas storms.
UK Power Networks, which owns electricity lines and cables in London, the south-east and east of England, said that when high winds struck on Thursday night, power was initially interrupted to more than 300,000 of its 8 million customers. The company said that 24 hours later 1,132 properties in Kent, more than 225 in Surrey and nearly 400 in Sussex were still without power.
The director of customer services, Matt Rudling, said: "This is such a difficult time of year for people to be without power and so many families have also been flooded out of their homes.
"Our hearts go out to our customers and we have been trying different ways to help them, from arranging Christmas dinners to providing more help and tools on our website."
A spokesman added: "As a gesture of goodwill UK Power Networks has decided to boost the industry standard payment from £27 to £75 for customers who are without power for 48-60 hours including Christmas Day, and additional payments will be made to any customers off supply for longer up to a maximum of £432."
The offer came as scores of flood warnings remained in place across the UK, with more showers this weekend likely to further delay clean-up operations.
Forecasters said the mild wet and blustery weather would be a respite from the two major storms endured over Christmas, which left thousands of homes flooded and many without power for days.
The Environment Agency has issued more than 130 flood alerts across central and southern England – with 34 urging residents to take immediate action.
Showers would mainly affect western and southern England, Wales and parts of Scotland before a light storm moved in on Sunday, Meteogroup forecaster Sean Penston said.
"It won't be nearly as bad compared to the last two storms but it will no doubt make it hard for people recovering from flooding," he said.
The authorities' efforts to deal with the chaos caused by the first storm on Monday were hampered by the arrival of a second storm on Boxing Day night, bringing with it gales of more than 100mph.
On Friday, power companies were condemned for failing to restore supplies to thousands of people – some of whom had been without electricity since Christmas Eve.
More than 1,200 homes flooded, while many rivers burst there banks and groundwater flooding made roads impassable. The floods, and fallen trees and debris caused major airport, rail and road disruptions.
The Energy Networks Association (ENA) said on Friday that 13,000 homes were still without power across the south of England and Wales. About 5,000 customers in Northern Ireland were without electricity, while around 35,000 homes across Ireland had no power on Friday night.
In Kent, David Cameron was confronted by angry flood victims as he visited Yalding, a village seriously affected by the latest storms.
ENA spokesman Tony Glover apologised to those affected by the storms, but highlighted the difficulties technicians had been facing.
"The problem was that not only did we have a storm followed by torrential rain, but huge amounts of flooding afterwards. That impacted on our ability to get to the affected areas, and to get materials that we need."
ScottishPower said it had now reconnected 14,500 customers who lost power during Thursday night's storm.
Spokesman Simon McMillan said: "The biggest issue affecting the electricity network has been uprooted trees and other debris blown on to overhead power lines, which has caused damage and brought down the power lines in some areas.
"The company will do all that it can to restore supplies as quickly as possible. However, a number of roads and bridges have been blocked and closed by fallen trees which could restrict access in certain locations, and where wind speeds remain high engineers will not be able to climb poles and work at height."
Robin Gisby, managing director of network operations at Network Rail, said this week "has been one of the most challenging periods we have faced in recent times".
Thursday night's storms meant several trains were delayed on Friday morning so lines could be examined in daylight.
The line from London to Portsmouth via Haslemere is blocked by four landslips near Liphook, and will stay closed over the weekend. The track at Ockley, between Horsham and Dorking, is also closed after a serious landslip.
A spokesman for the Rail Delivery Group, which speaks for the rail industry, said: "We'd like to apologise to passengers whose journeys over the festive period have been affected by the bad weather of the last few days.
"Hundreds of rail staff have been working round the clock to clear tracks but some services have started later than planned to ensure passengers can complete their journeys safely."
North West Ambulance Service used Twitter to warn people about going outside in the gales. A spokeswoman said the service had taken half a dozen calls in Lancashire alone about people being blown over by the wind, though only minor injuries were reported.
The Conservative MP for Hastings and Rye, Amber Rudd, criticised Southeastern trains for failing to provide a replacement bus service for her constituents in the commuter belt towns.
While Southern Rail was offering workers the option of commuting to London via bus and even using Twitter to post regular updates, Southeastern services, including their communications, had been lamentable, she said.
"So Southern have really done very well," said Ms Rudd. "I think it's partly because they've got Gatwick airport on their tail wanting a better service. But Southeastern has not been anywhere near as good, and I have received a lot of complaints about them. They have been just too complacent."
The RAC reported a 20% increase in vehicle breakdowns across the UK, rising to a 40% increase in the south and south-east between Christmas Eve and Friday.
A combination of storms and floods, congestion caused by shoppers hitting the Boxing Day sales and those heading home after the Christmas break, had all contributed to the spike in breakdowns, it said.
"We are maintaining increased levels of both patrol and support team hours as we prepare for the onslaught of shoppers over the busy sale weekend," the spokeswoman Sarah Rice said. "The anticipated early return to work on Monday inevitably sees high volumes of breakdowns."
The RAC advised drivers to give cars a 5-mile drive to test the battery, check tyre pressures and tread, coolant and screen-wash levels, and ensure windscreen wipers were working properly.
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