Difficulties obtaining information about when power would be supplied following Storm Eowyn have been branded “not acceptable”.
At one stage on Friday, more than 45,000 homes across Dumfries and Galloway were without power.
Engineers from Scottish Power Energy Networks (SPEN) have been working round the clock to restore supplies, with around 300 properties still affected by Wednesday morning.
While residents were appreciative of their efforts, they are unhappy with communication from SPEN.
Some people found it hard to get information – while the News is aware of several cases where SPEN’s information sources told them power would be restored by close of play the following day, only for that to have changed again by the following morning.
South Scotland MSP Colin Smyth said: “The winds associated with Storm Éowyn were mercifully rare and I fully appreciate how incredibly difficult a job power companies have faced, both during the storm and in the aftermath in keeping people connected to the grid. I want to pay tribute to all their staff, who have been working round the clock to get people connected, in some cases physically in difficult conditions.
“However, I have heard from a number of very frustrated constituents about the problems they faced both trying to report a power cut and also about getting information relating to when their power would be restored.
“Many people’s calls were simply being cut off before hearing anything and they were then forced to contact friends and relatives who still had internet access to find out what was going on.
“It’s not acceptable, especially when some have been without power for days on end and they were still in the dark, both literally and figuratively. What has been especially frustrating for many is the fact they were given times to be re-connected, but these were continuously changed, often several times and by a few days, with some still not reconnected four days after the damage was done.”
SPEN CEO Nicola Connelly visited Dumfries and Galloway on Tuesday to see how the work was going.
A spokesperson for SP Energy Networks said: “We continually review and improve our storm response and are always looking for ways we can help our customers. From proactively sending over 270,000 SMS messages to customers on the priority services register, to door knocking on the worst affected areas as well as providing welfare support including warm hubs, food vans and hotel accommodation, we’ve had all our resource focused on helping people during this time.
“The storm was one of the worst to ever hit out network with more than 100 days’ worth of faults in just under three days. Alongside our teams on the ground our customer service team have been working non-stop and have handled over 92,000 calls – three months’ worth since Friday.
“Dumfries and Galloway was one of the worst affected areas and we have every resource working to get the remaining homes back on. We know how difficult this is for those who remain without power and we are so grateful to them for their resilience and support as we work to get the lights back on.”