Community Efforts Demonstrate Solidarity

Alyn Smith MP has called for lessons to be learned in the wake of Storm Arwen, as rural settlements were left without power and utilities due to storm damage.

Communities came together to keep each other warm and safe after power cuts began on Friday evening, as over the weekend Stirling Council and Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks launched their emergency response.

Mr Smith has called for a review of disaster procedures as difficulties emerged over communications and the effectiveness of timely resilience planning. As the nation faces continuing uncertainty due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and enters the winter weather season, preparedness will be high on the agenda. 

Alyn Smith MP said:

‘Communities have really banded together to provide mutual aid during this power outage, and given the immense damage to the power grid I understand the task ahead for SSEN to restore connections to homes and businesses. Storm Arwen really did a number on our critical infrastructure, and whilst we pick ourselves back up, there are clear lessons to be learned over Stirling’s resilience planning and response. 

‘For my part, relaying information and directing residents to reliable sources of key information and aid is the role elected leaders can play in disaster response. Information flow remains key, and I’ll be in conversation with Stirling Council and key partners to provide feedback on our collective response to this situation.’

Notes:

Customers seeking compensation for hotel bills etc can email receipts to: networks.executivecomplaints@ssen.co.uk