by Rebecca Hannant
Regional representatives have met Northern Powergrid to discuss concerns over frequent power cuts in the South East Holderness villages.
On Friday, July 4, South East Holderness ward councillor Sean McMaster and Beverley and Holderness MP Graham Stuart met with representatives of Northern Powergrid after the company was contacted by Cllr McMaster, who had received reports from several residents across the area.
In the past year, residents have experienced around 17 power cuts, raising concerns about the impact on daily life and vulnerable people. Easington Parish Council clerk Kim Dalton said: “We have had a lot of power cuts, so we’re trying to get some answers to what’s going on and what they can do to help us. When the electric goes off, we end up with no mobile phone connection either. I’m just here today to find out what’s going on.
“I think the main concern is the frequency of power cuts. When there are longer power cuts, I have had people say that they have relatives who have difficulty breathing or are on medical equipment.
“Some people are also working from home, so they cannot access their work or make a phone call or anything. People must go out of the area to get a connection. Within the past 18 months, we have seen around 17 power cuts.”
Cllr McMaster said: “We visited the drop-in session to talk about the ongoing issues with power cuts faced by people living in Easington, Kilnsea and Skeffling. We have invited residents to come and talk to Northern Powergrid about the ongoing issues they have been facing and hopefully get some answers. The power cuts are regular, and the length of the cut often depends on the issue – whether it’s a line fault or a bird strike. Each individual case can sometimes take a day to repair, or it can take just several hours.”
Following the meeting, Northern Powergrid pledged to carry out repairs and improvements over the summer. They also committed to maintaining contact with Cllr McMaster and residents.
Cllr McMaster added: “I’m lucky in that I have a contact at Northern Powergrid so that when I’m aware of a power cut, I can get hold of them and ask how they are going to repair the issue. I can then feed that back to the residents, so that line of communication is brilliant.
“Northern Powergrid is doing everything it can do. They’ve identified that there is an issue between Easington and Kilnsea and during the summer they will be repairing and replacing some of the power lines.
“I have received some details of the further work they are going to be carrying out in the area for some of the residents. I have also been given some posters that can go up in the community hall for residents to know where to contact directly.”
Mr Stuart said: “Cllr McMaster and residents came to me complaining about intermittent power supply. I have also had a number of residents come to me about the issue. There was also a bird strike in Keyingham last week which saw power cut out from around 4am until 3pm that afternoon.
“We have met with Northern Powergrid previously to discuss problems and were determined to give people the reliable electricity supply which they deserve. As a result, Northern Powergrid have pledged to get ahead of themselves and carry out works such as cutting back the trees. We have been talking to them about installing reflectors or deflectors to stop bird strikes. It’s early days but things look to be heading in a better direction.
“Northern Powergrid have said that due to the nature of overhead lines there will be problems sometimes, but their commitment is to come out quickly and fix it. The drop-in session was about making sure that they recognise the need to communicate with everybody so they know what’s going on, as well as fix things as quickly as they can.”
A spokesman for Northern Powergrid said: “On Friday, July 4, we carried out an engagement visit in Easington and met with MP Graham Stuart and councillor Sean McMaster to discuss the volume of power cuts over the past couple of years, and explain how Northern Powergrid has worked hard to resolve the issues.
“The number of outages has reduced significantly, and further work is planned over the next few months to replace some poles in the local area.
“Customer engagement is important to us and provides an opportunity for local residents to speak with us and ask any questions.
“We welcome any other questions and continue to engage with customers and stakeholders to support those impacted – including offering additional advice to customers who are signed up to our free Priority Services Membership.
“Any customers who need support can call us on freephone 105. Lines are open 24/7 and we’re always happy to help.”