Scotland weather: Almost 3,000 properties remain without power after Storm Gerrit

Engineers are still working to restore power

Thousands of homes remain without power and motorists and rail passengers face continued disruption after Storm Gerrit battered the country.

Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) Distribution said that as of 5pm on Thursday supplies had been restored to some 40,000 customers, with around 2,900 left without power. Some could be without supply into Friday.

High winds, heavy rain and snow damaged electricity networks in some parts of the country while a Met Office yellow weather warning was in force across much of Scotland throughout Wednesday.

A member of the public is seen on the platform of Bowling station which is shut by flooding on December 27, 2023 in Bowling. Picture: Getty

SSEN said its workers have faced wind speeds of 80mph in some coastal areas as they worked to reconnect customers.

The weather conditions also disrupted travel, with some drivers trapped for hours on the A9 which was closed at Drumochter in the Highlands due to snow.

The A9 has since reopened apart from a section further north at Scrabster, however some roads around the country remain shut on Thursday morning, including the A82 between Invergarry and Fort Augustus in the Highlands and the A96 at Huntly, Aberdeenshire.

On the railways, many routes remain closed and will not reopen until safety checks have been carried out.

Network Rail Scotland said the routes affected are the Far North and Kyle Line, Aberdeen to Dundee, Edinburgh to Cupar, Aberdeen to Inverness, Balloch to Bowling and Largs to Fairlie routes, as well as the Highland Mainline and West Highland Lines.

The company said: “Once a line has been fully checked and is confirmed safe to reopen, we will do this right away, allowing services to resume as quickly as possible.”

Andy Smith, Operations Director at SSEN Distribution, said the properties which remained without power were mainly due to faults which occurred later on Wednesday and in the early hours of Thursday morning.

He said: “Our teams continue to make really good progress in restoring power following the significant impact of Storm Gerrit.

“I know it’s caused problems for our customers, and I’m grateful to them for their patience. I’d like to reassure customers we’ve got every resource at our disposal out there, fixing faults on the network.

“Adverse conditions on the roads hampered our efforts last night, but thankfully conditions have improved this morning and we’re making progress with the work that needs to be done.

“But it will take time to complete all repairs. Some customers in rural areas where there are multiple points of damage, will be without power until Friday.”

He said welfare vans providing hot food and drink have been sent to some areas affected, including Grantown, Fort Augustus, Fraserburgh and Banchory.

Stein Connelly, head of transport resilience at Transport Scotland, urged people to plan ahead when travelling.

He said: “It’s been an extremely challenging period for the transport network. The partnership response to Storm Gerrit continues and our trunk road operating companies are working hard to open roads as soon as possible.

“On the A96 at Huntly, the road remains closed in both directions due to flooding, with teams continuing to work to clear the water this morning.

“Fallen trees are still impacting the A82 between Fort Augustus and Invergarry, with the clearance effort still under way.

“The weather has improved and the Met Office warnings have ended, but people may still encounter difficult driving conditions due to surface water and flooding.

“We continue to ask people to plan ahead, to drive appropriately and to take care out on the road network.

“Public transport services remain impacted, so please check with your transport operator across all modes to understand if your service has been cancelled or delayed.”