Politicians raise emergency planning questions after Storm Arwen chaos

11.02.2022 - 16:21 / dailyrecord.co.uk

The chaos caused by the aftermath of Storm Arwen has led to calls for improved resilience planning and compensation for those in the firing line.

The storm ripped through communities across the region in November, leaving more than 135,000 people without power - with some communities in rural Stirling being forced to wait for a week for power to be fully restored.

A recent survey commissioned by Stirling MSP Evelyn Tweed has revealed 27 per cent of more than 100 respondents were left in the dark for four days or more and 32 per cent said they felt unprepared for a big storm.

Operators Scottish & Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) have also come under criticism from locals, with almost 70 per cent of people declaring they didn’t have confidence in SSEN for the future.

The issue of storm preparations was the subject of a recent debate in the Scottish Parliament, in which SSEN’s response to the crisis was branded as “woeful” amid calls for the company to compensate councils for their efforts during the storm.

Ms Tweed said: “After the storm my office and I were inundated with requests for help and assistance, ranging from those with critical medical needs, to others concerned about loved ones who were unreachable.

“The chief executive of SSE earns a basic salary approaching £1 million, and with bonuses and other payments his total remuneration package was over £3 million.

“Other directors earned well over £500,000. Perhaps if more of the annual £1.5 billion profits were diverted into employing more local staff and having better resourced and tested resilience plans this debate would not have been required.

“I welcome the 15 recommendations of the Storm Arwen Review published last week for the Scottish Government and its partners.