Hexham MP, Guy Opperman has praised residents for their ‘excellent’ contributions at meetings held on the response to Storm Arwen.
The MP has also said that residents came forward with recommendations that will help improve community resilience ahead of future storm events.
Mr Opperman said that clear solutions to future storm events are emerging. These include:
- Local hubs ready and planned for adverse weather events.
- Better communications from Northern Powergrid
- More interim generators
- Greater preparation for extreme events by Northern Powergrid
- Phone resilience
The meetings were held at Darras Hall Primary School (Thursday 13th January) and Bellingham Town Hall (Friday 14th January).
The meetings were an opportunity for Mr Opperman’s constituents’ voices to be heard by representatives of the various stakeholders involved in responding to the devastating consequences of Storm Arwen.
The bout of severe weather late last year saw thousands of homes in the Weardale, Northumberland and North East Scotland without power for more than a week.
Some of Mr Opperman’s constituents were without power for 11 days and others were without water supplies for four days.
Representatives from Northern Powergrid, Northumbrian Water and Northumberland County Council, Forestry England (in Bellingham) and the NFU (in Bellingham) were in attendance to answer questions from Mr Opperman and his constituents.
Evidence from the meetings will form a report which will be sent to Ofgem to be considered as part of their Review.
Mr Opperman is holding two further meetings in January:
27th January 18:00 – 20:00, Hexham Mart
28th January 19:00 – 21:00, Allendale Town Hall
Guy Opperman MP said:
‘’I am grateful for the excellent contributions from attendees at the meetings in Ponteland and Bellingham.
These meetings proved to be successful events. I look forward to using evidence from the meetings in a report, which I will be sending to Ofgem, to be considered for their Review.
Clear solutions for future storms are emerging, from the provision of interim generators to Northern Powergrid improving their communications.
I also want to thank Northern Powergrid, Northumberland County Council, Northumbrian Water, Forestry England and the NFU for attending these events, and for addressing the concerns of my constituents.’’
Paul Glendinning, Northern Powergrid’s Director of Policy and Markets, said:
“We welcome the opportunity to speak to our customers, obtain their feedback and answer questions about Storm Arwen, our response and compensation.
The Storm was one of the most extreme events we have seen in 20 years, and of course, they are lessons to be learnt about how we can help prevent power cuts and assist our customers in managing the impact if they happen – especially those in more remote communities.”
Jim Howey, Head of Water Networks North:
“It’s vital to learn lessons from Storm Arwen and make sure we build future resilience in our region, and we’re very pleased to play our part in this process alongside local communities.”