Around 200 homes in the Lowton and Golborne areas of Wigan are without electricity after an electric pole was severely damaged during Storm Boelo. Wigan council has opened a rest centre at Ashton Leisure Centre on Old Road, Ashton-in-Makerfield, for anyone affected by the power cut on Slag Lane this afternoon (October 25).
Damage on Slag Lane
A tree has also come down on Slag Lane and damaged a telephone pole, so the road will remain closed until repairs can be safely carried out. Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, Electricity North West and council staff are on site.
A Wigan council spokesperson said: "Due to damage to an electric pole on Slag Lane, approximately 200 homes in the area are currently without power. A rest centre is being set up at Ashton Leisure Centre, Old Road, Ashton-in-Makerfield, WN4 9TP for anyone affected. We would ask anyone able to travel there independently to please do so. There is limited transport available for those who need it. If you do need a lift, please meet a member of Council staff at Golborne Parkside, Rivington Avenue, Golborne, WA3 3HG."
Wider North West impact
SP Electricity North West listed more than 160 power cuts across the North West as of 2.40pm, including 11 in Greater Manchester. Elsewhere in Wigan, power cuts are also affecting homes in Astley, Hindley Green and Standish, with two ongoing in Farnworth and another two in Horwich, near Bolton. Small power cuts are also ongoing in the Ashton Hurst area of Tameside, Milnrow near Rochdale and the St James' area of Oldham.
Of the 162 power cuts ongoing in the North West as of 2.40pm, most were in Lancashire and Cumbria, where an amber Met Office warning for strong winds is in force until 9pm. A yellow warning for wind remains in force across Greater Manchester and northern England until 9pm, with showers forecast for the rest of the day.
Restoration times
SP Electricity North West has set up four rest centres in Cumbria and Lancashire for people in some of the worst affected areas of Ulverston, Askham in Furness, Carnforth and Wigton. The company says the strength of the winds in some areas means work cannot yet take place to restore power, and some homes might have to wait until Tuesday for full service to resume.
A spokesperson for SP Electricity North West said: "We're responding to Storm Boelo but strong winds mean it's currently unsafe for our teams to climb and repair overhead lines. We have set the expected restoration time to 6pm on Tuesday (October 27). This is following customer feedback on wanting to know the 'worst case scenario'. As soon as the wind drops enough to allow engineers to climb, they will be repairing the network as quickly and safely as possible and restoration times will be updated.
"Our teams are assessing the extent of the damage but wind speeds remain at 65-70mph in many areas making it unsafe for teams to work at height until the wind drops. We're focusing on remotely switching affected supplies to other parts of the network to restore as many properties as we can until it is safe for our teams to climb and make physical repairs."
Anyone with concerns around power cuts can call SP Electricity North West free on 105. Information can also be found on SP Electricity North West's live power cut checker and extra care pages.
