Independent report

Storm Arwen electricity distribution disruption review

Through the Energy Emergencies Executive Committee, BEIS reviewed the Electricity Network Operator response to restore power from the disruptions caused by Storm Arwen.

Applies to England, Scotland and Wales

Documents

Details

Storm Arwen hit the UK between 26-27 November 2021, causing electricity disruption to just over 1 million customers. While 83% of disrupted customers had their power restored within 24 hours, a small but significant proportion experienced a disruption of up to 13 days.

The Energy Emergencies Executive Committee (E3C) carried out this review, which considered:

  • system resilience
  • consumer protection
  • additional response support

It identified lessons and made recommendations for improving the resilience of electricity networks to severe weather events, and customer communications. The review has also taken into account Storm Eunice, which hit the UK in February 2022.

E3C were required to submit an interim report within 8 weeks, published here in February 2022. The final report was published in June 2022, along with the Ofgem review into the networks’ response.

Published 9 December 2021
Last updated 9 June 2022 + show all updates
  1. Final report published.

  2. Interim report published.

  3. First published.