Those without power over Christmas to receive compensation, say Southern Electric

The firm, which provides electricity to the south of England including West Berkshire, has this week moved to assure those affected that they will receive compensation above the statutory minimum payment as acknowledgement of the disruption this would have caused over the festive period.
Households and businesses which were without power for more than 48 hours will receive £54 in compensation, and £54 will be added for every following 12 hours that power was not restored.
Payments of £75 will also be made to properties which were without electricity for any length of time on Christmas Day, the firm has confirmed.
Statutory requirements set by Ofgem state that customers affected by power cuts during periods of severe weather are entitled to an initial payment of £27 and additional payments of £27 for every following 12 hours without power, with a maximum payment of £216.
The power cuts followed severe weather which caused gale force winds of up to 80mph and torrential rain to descend on the south of England on December 23, which uprooted trees, flooded roads and homes and cut off power supplies to tens of thousands of properties across the region - more than 2,000 of them in Newbury and the surrounding area.
While engineers worked to restore power as quickly as possible, more than 350 Newbury homes were without electricity on Christmas Day and the final 100 affected were not restored until December 27.
Southern Electric has said it will be conducting a consultation with customers, employees, partner organisations and industry experts on how the electricity network could be made more resilient and how the service could be improved if power fails.
The managing director for Southern Electric, Mark Mathieson, said: “We use sophisticated weather monitoring systems to plan five or six days ahead so we can be ready for severe storms like this, but however prepared you are... just as the Environment Agency cannot make flood defences bulletproof, we cannot wave a magic wand when major weather events hit.
“We can work hard to get people back on power, and we did.
“Whether it was the engineers, the linesmen, the tree cutters, the mobile catering drivers or our call centre operators who check-in with vulnerable customers to ensure that medical equipment like dialysis machines or stairlifts are working, we went the extra mile.
“To my staff, thank you.
“Our customers, though, have been the true heroes.
“[They] experienced the storm and felt its impact, but they were so patient, helpful and some of the feedback I have had through Twitter and from our workforce has been very positive.
“We will be offering enhanced compensation in recognition of the disruption to customers’ Christmas plans.”
Those who are eligible for the payments will receive a letter from the firm with more information, or you can apply for a payment online at www.ssepd.co.uk/goodwill/
Were you affected by power cuts due to the storm over Christmas? Let reporter Ellis Barker know by emailing ellis.barker@newburynews.co.uk