POWER CUTS are planned across Lancashire this week and they are set to disrupt the power for dozens of residents.

Electricity North West said they have planned power cuts so engineers can safely work on cables that supply power to the property.

Some reasons for them carrying out planned power cuts are:

  • Maintaining and investing in the network
  • New connections to the network
  • Tree cutting

The company said they “invest millions every year” into maintaining the local network.

What is an unplanned power cut?

Clive Wilkinson, operations director at Electricity North West, said: “A lot of the work we do happens in the background and customers aren’t always affected, we even have ‘live lines’ teams who can work on live electricity equipment without turning power off, however, sometimes we do have to turn people’s power off so that our engineers can work on the network safely.

“Planned power cuts allow us to carry out vital work such as maintaining the network, carrying out repairs and installing new connections, which ensures that homes and businesses continue receive the best supply possible in the long term.

“With every planned power cut, we’ll always give at least 10 days’ notice, won’t turn power off before 9am and electricity will be back on before 5pm.

“Unfortunately, not all power cuts are planned and can happen for a variety of reasons with no warning because of the weather, vandalism or even birds hitting overhead lines. Our teams are on hand 24/7 365 days a year and should anybody ever need any more information during a power cut, whether planned or not, they can follow Electricity North West on Twitter or Facebook for updates, or call us free on 105.”

What causes un-planned power cuts?

According to Electricity North West, unplanned power cuts can be caused by many different factors such as:

  • theft of our equipment- sometimes our substations are broken in to and our equipment is taken
  • fire which damages the equipment on our network or in our substations
  • birds flying in to our overhead cables
  • deterioration or water seeping in to an aging cable
  • damages to cables from others for example:
    • customers digging in their own garden
    • contractors working in the public highway

The length of time to restore your electricity can vary depending on the reason for the power cut. We will work as quickly as we can to restore your electricity as we know how inconvenient this can be to your daily life.

Planned power cut locations in Lancashire

Where? Lancaster

When? 22/07/2021

How many customers without power? 5

Postcodes affected: LA2 7DF, LA2 7DA

Where? Clitheroe

When? 22/07/2021

How many customers without power? 14

Postcodes affected: BB7 4LY, BB7 4LV, BB7 4LU, BB7 4HZ
 

Where? Burnley

When? 20/07/2021

How many customers without power? 8

Postcodes affected: PR3 2QX, PR3 2QU, PR3 2QF, PR3 2QD, PR3 2QB

Where? Burnley

When? 22/07/2021

How many customers without power? 27

Postcodes affected: BB12 9AY, BB12 9AS, BB12 9AR, BB12 9AE, BB12 9AD, BB12 7QX, BB12 7QL

Where? Preston

When? 20/07/2021

How many customers without power? 13

Postcodes affected: PR4 3RJ, PR4 3RE
 

Where? Preston

When? 21/07/2021

How many customers without power? 19

Postcodes affected: PR3 2QX, PR3 2QU, PR3 2QF, PR3 2QD, PR3 2QB