Almost all homes that lost power during Storm Floris in Scotland have now been reconnected, the Justice Secretary has announced. Angela Constance said the storm had a particular impact on power and transport infrastructure across the country.
The Scottish Government said transport services are almost back to normal, with engineers continuing to restore power to homes and businesses. The worst affected areas were in Inverness, Dornoch, and the Moray Coast.
98% of homes reconnected
Officials confirmed that 98% of the 71,000 homes that lost power have now been restored. The remaining 1,600 properties were set to be reconnected over Tuesday evening.
Constance thanked responders who assisted in reconnecting the public and businesses with electricity. She said it was "a significant and unseasonal storm with the worst affected areas covering a wide geographical spread".
Engineers work tirelessly
The Justice Secretary praised the efforts of utility workers who have been working around the clock. "Engineers have worked tirelessly over the past two days to return power to the remaining affected properties as soon as possible," she said.
Energy companies continue to provide support to customers, including ensuring provisions are in place for the most vulnerable. Thousands of customers had spent a second night without power after Storm Floris swept in on Monday.
Winds reach 90mph
Tens of thousands of people were left without power after high winds earlier in the week reached speeds of up to 90mph. Hundreds of engineers have been out on the network since first light on Wednesday morning working to reconnect homes.
SSEN confirmed that 95% of customers who lost supplies due to Storm Floris have been reconnected. Andy Smith, SSEN's director of customer operations for the north of Scotland, described the storm as "unusually powerful, especially for a storm at this time of year".
Network damage widespread
Smith said the storm had "brought down many trees that have endured several previous storms, and it's caused some network damage". He thanked customers for their understanding and patience during the massive restoration task.
An amber weather warning was in place for an area stretching from the central belt to northern Scotland for much of Monday. The rest of the country was covered by a yellow weather warning.
Rail disruption continues
The storm also caused significant disruption to Scotland's rail network. Network Rail said teams have been working "tirelessly" to repair damage to infrastructure such as overhead lines and to clear fallen trees and debris from the tracks.
Storm Floris also led to delays in exam results being delivered to pupils in some island communities on SQA results day on Tuesday. The widespread impact highlighted the storm's unusual severity for this time of year.
(PA) Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
