Three energy companies to pay £10.5m after one million people left without power
THREE energy companies have agreed to pay out £10.5million after more than one million customers were left without power.
The disruption in August 2019 also caused travel chaos for thousands, leaving passengers stranded on trains and knocking out traffic light signal in some areas.
Hornsea One Ltd and RWE agree to pay out £4.5 million each, while UK Power Networks will pay £1.5 million after a technical breach of rules.
The Ofgem investigation found more than one million customers were left without power, or faced disruption to their energy supply, after two generators went down following a lightning strike on August 9, 2019.
Ofgem said two large power stations, Hornsea One Ltd and Little Barford, operated by RWE, did not stay connected after the lightning strike.
All customers were reconnected by the Distribution Network Operators within 45 minutes of the lightning strike, the regulator said.
When are you entitled to compensation after a power cut?
IF you find yourself without power, you could be entitled to compensation from your energy supplier.
The amount you will get varies between £70 to £700 based on how long the power was cut for and if the power cut was planned.
You'll get £70 if the power was off for 24 hours, or 48 hours if it was a severe storm.
And then £70 for each following 12 hours, up to a maximum of £700 - which would be a maximum of 10 days.
You can also get an extra £75 compensation if the power goes off more than four times in one year, for more than three hours.
The year runs from April 1 to March 31.
If the power cut was caused by bad weather you should be paid this compensation automatically.
If you don't then you can still try and claim.
You'll need to contact your local electricity distributor and you must do with within three months of the supply being fixed.
If you have a prepayment meter how you get paid might vary.
Some suppliers can credit the meter directly, while others will send you a cheque or vouchers.
Ofgem also found UKPN began reconnecting customers without being asked to by the National Grid's ESO, which could have potentially jeopardised the recovery of the network.
The regulator said this had no impact on the August 9 power cut.
The money from the three companies will go into the Ofgem energy redress scheme.
This cash is then set aside for use by charities that help some of the most vulnerable in society to manage their energy bills.
The scheme is administered by the Energy Saving Trust.
Jonathan Brearley, executive director of Ofgem, said: “Consumers and businesses rely on generators and network companies to provide a secure and stable power supply.
“August 9 showed how much disruption and distress is caused to consumers across the UK when this does not happen.
“That is why it is right that companies that were unable to keep generating have paid into our consumer redress fund.”
The Sun has contacted Hornsea One Ltd, RWE and UKPN for comment.
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