More than 30,000 homes across Scotland without power amid Storm Boelo

More than 30,000 homes across Scotland are experiencing power outages after Storm Boelo battered the country overnight. As of 11am on Sunday, just in excess of 24,000 Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) customer properties were affected by power outages. At least 6,000 homes in areas across central and southern Scotland were also without power following the storm, according to SP Energy Networks (SPEN). Storm Boelo brought 80mph gusts and travel disruption to much of Scotland this weekend, shortly after Storm Austen delivered heavy rain to many areas on Friday.

The Met Office has warned of potential injuries and danger to life from flying debris as well as a chance of damage to buildings, power cuts and travel disruption. A police road closure on the A78 near Skelmorlie, North Ayrshire, after Storm Boelo passed through the area Credit: Jane Barlow/PA The amber wind warning came into force at 9pm on Saturday and will remain in place until 9pm on Sunday, with only Orkney remaining under a yellow warning.

Tiree saw 82mph gusts at about 4am and in the Glasgow region the Met Office recorded up to 62mph wind gusts at the same time. SPEN said on Sunday morning that engineers were working to restore power to customers after Storm Boelo impacted parts of the electricity network overnight. The power company is one of the two primary network operators in Scotland, serving central and southern areas, as well as parts of England and North Wales. Following the storm, the firm said there are currently around 6,000 homes in the SPEN areas without power, mainly across Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway.

SPEN warned more outages could occur as the storm continues and said that teams are on stand-by. The power company said it has handled around 2,000 customer calls and has extra resource working throughout the day to support people who are affected by power cuts. An update on Sunday morning said an amber weather warning remains in place, bringing falling debris and downed trees that have affected power lines across the region. Flood water on the A8 in Port Glasgow, Inverclyde, after Storm Boelo passed through the area Credit: Jane Barlow/PA According to the company, multiple SPEN repair teams have been mobilised and engineers are working to assess damage and restore power as quickly as possible.

SSEN, Scotland’s other primary network operator, reported power cuts affecting homes across parts of Scotland as of 11am on Sunday. The power outages have been reported across Highlands, Argyll, Western Isles, Orkney, parts of Perth and Kinross, and Stirling. Areas of Aberdeenshire, near Inverurie and Banchory, and large parts of the Isle of Mull, Skye, Harris and Lewis have also been affected by the power cuts. Since Storm Boelo began moving across the region on Saturday, SSEN said engineers have already safely repaired and restored power to more than 19,500 customers.

As Storm Boelo continues to sweep across the north of Scotland, the power company said it is also preparing for impact to network infrastructure in Tayside, the north-east and Aberdeenshire later on Sunday. In a social media post on Sunday, SSEN said it is “working hard to respond to damage caused by Storm Boelo”. “Severe weather across our network will continue today and further disruption remains possible,” SSEN said. Customers experiencing a power outage can report it by calling the free, national emergency helpline 105.