Power restored to 17,500 in Rochdale

Electricity North West has restored power to 17,500 properties in Rochdale following severe flooding at the area's main substation.

At the time of publication (2.30pm), engineers are working to restore power to the remaining 2,500 properties that remain off supply.

30,000 properties are usually supplied with electricity from the main substation in Rochdale. Engineers from Electricity North West shifted 10,000 properties from the substation an hour before the flooding hit to secure supplies.

The remaining 20,000 properties were affected by a power cut at 10am, engineers restored power to 10,000 by 12.15pm and another 7,500 by 2pm.

Engineers from Electricity North West remain on site and are working in difficult conditions to repair damage caused by heavy rain and subsequent floods across Greater Manchester and Lancashire.

In response to the Met Office weather warning for heavy rain the power operator has been closely monitoring the weather and put in place more than 22,000 sandbags to help protect key substations.

Mark Williamson, operations director for Electricity North West, said: “Our engineers have restored power to the majority of people in Rochdale, mainly by switching them to other supplies, but there is still significant flooding of our equipment which will take some time to fully repair.

"We're still on site and working hard in extremely difficult conditions, where access is also a problem, but we will continue to restore supplies to as many people as we can as quickly as possible.
“We are monitoring all substations affected by flood warnings and have drafted in extra engineers to take all the preventative measures we can."

Flood defences at Rochdale substation were upgraded in 2010 as part of a £468k scheme to protect power supplies against a '1-in-200-year' flood.

Vulnerable customers, including some older or disabled people, or those with a medical dependency on electricity, can also sign up to the Priority Services Register by visiting www.enwl.co.uk/priority or contacting Electricity North West on 0800 195 4141.
For advice on how to stay safe in a flooding event, please visit www.enwl.co.uk/power-cuts/flooding-advice.

To report a power cut please call 0800 195 4141 or visit www.electricitynorthwest.co.uk