No power, no phones! Storm severs connection for hundreds

Thursday 02 November 2023

No power, no phones! Storm severs connection for hundreds

Thursday 02 November 2023

Rapid response teams are working hard to reconnect hundreds of islanders who are still without power, landlines and mobile phone services after a violent storm severed connections across the island.

The trail of Storm Ciarán left an estimated 600 properties across the island without electricity.

Outages have been reported in both the east and west – with some saying they have been without power since the early hours of this morning, when a suspected tornado hit.

While Jersey Electricity's "overall power system held up well considering the extreme weather conditions", according to the utility company, the storm nevertheless caused "significant damage to certain overhead lines" resulting in more than 100 incidents across the network.

The initial focus was to "make damaged overhead lines safe" before prioritising and restoring services, the statement continued.

Chris Ambler, Chief Executive of JE, commented: "The safety of our customers and staff is always of the utmost importance and therefore it is critical that any restoration is done in a carefully managed way.

"Due to the number of incidents and the scale of damage, coupled with the difficulty in accessing certain locations due to road restrictions and the continued challenging weather conditions, we are advising those customers who have not yet had power restored to plan on the basis that electricity will not be restored until at least tomorrow, and possibly longer.

"I want to reassure our customers that we are doing everything we can to affect a safe and rapid restoration of the network. I also want to thank our customers for their understanding at this very difficult time."

Meanwhile, approximately 600 landlines have been affected by the power outages, and mobile phone services have also been disrupted in certain parts of the Island.

"Operators are working remotely to restore services to affected areas as soon as possible, with on-site visits to follow when it is safe," the Government said in a statement.

They also urged islanders to "check on neighbours, friends, and family members, particularly the elderly and those who are vulnerable", provided it is safe to do so.

JT confirmed that a "small number" of customers in Jersey and Sark have experienced service issues following the storm, noting that these problems appear to be "isolated".

They added that their team is "actively working remotely to restore normal service".

Sure Jersey has reported that several mobile sites suffered damage during the storm, resulting in "reduced service" availability.

The affected locations include First Tower, Le Marais (St Clement), the Airport, and Quenault and Sons.

Although service has been restored to two of their Airport sites, it is expected that coverage will be reduced along St Quen's Bay and St Peter's Village.

Sure added that other areas may also experience reduced indoor coverage until repairs can be completed.

SUPPORT...

Vulnerable customers without power are asked to get in touch with JE's Customer Care team on 01534 505460.

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