Engineers are working to restore power to 8,500 homes across Scotland that remain without electricity following Storm Amy's destructive path over the weekend. Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) confirmed that crews had already reconnected 80,000 households by Monday morning after the storm battered the country from Friday into the weekend.
Several hundred engineers and tree-cutting specialists are deployed across the network, while British Red Cross volunteers are checking on vulnerable customers. Food outlets served more than 9,000 meals to affected customers on Sunday and continue providing hot food to communities still without power.
Recovery operation challenges
SSEN expects the majority of remaining customers to be reconnected by the end of Monday, though fallen trees and storm debris continue to block access to damaged network areas. Most homes still awaiting reconnection are located in the Highlands, with some communities in Argyll and Bute also affected by ongoing outages.
Nik Wheeler, SSEN's head of customer operations for the north of Scotland, said: "With Storm Amy's damaging and sustained winds finally subsiding, our huge reconnection operation is progressing well, although access challenges due to storm debris and fallen trees remain a concern." He added that dozens of additional teams from fellow network operators arrived to assist with repairs.
Transport networks recover
Most rail services returned to normal operations on Monday morning, though some Highland routes remain affected by storm damage. ScotRail withdrew services in many areas during the storm's peak as winds reached up to 100 miles per hour in parts of Scotland.
Network Rail Scotland reported more than 420 incidents, including fallen trees and debris across tracks, requiring extensive recovery work. Mark Ilderton from ScotRail said the storm "was even more severe than forecast" and praised customers for their patience during the disruption.
Ross Moran, route director at Network Rail Scotland, said: "Storm Amy really left its mark on Scotland's railway. With more than 420 incidents, including fallen trees and debris across the tracks, the scale of the recovery effort has been immense."
Storm's widespread impact
Storm Amy brought "extremely damaging" winds with gusts of almost 100mph recorded in exposed coastal areas when it struck on Friday. Weather warnings covered much of the country through Saturday, extending until midday Sunday in northern Scotland.
The storm's effects reached beyond Scotland, leaving about 2,500 homes without power in the Republic of Ireland and 100 in Northern Ireland on Sunday night. The Met Office forecast that Monday will be wet and windy for western Scotland, though no weather warnings are currently in place.
Sources used: "PA Media" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
