Editorial illustration of distribution restoration conditions; not a photograph of Storm Austen or Storm Boelo.
Updated October 25, 2026 · SSEN snapshot: 3 p.m. British local time.
Storm Boelo has disrupted electricity supplies across northern Scotland. In its October 25 operator update, Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks reported just over 47,000 customers awaiting restoration at 3 p.m., with more than 32,500 restored since the storm reached its network the previous day.
These figures apply to SSEN’s northern Scotland network, not the whole of Scotland. They are a dated snapshot and should not be combined with totals from other territories or earlier observation times.
SSEN identified Argyll and the West, Skye and the Western Isles as the principal affected areas. Its response includes additional repair crews, tree-cutting teams and control-room switching staff, alongside cancellation of planned Monday maintenance to release engineering resources.
Restoration requires access, isolation and network reconfiguration
Engineering analysis: control-room switching may restore some customers through alternative network arrangements before every repair is complete. The scope depends on available routes, equipment condition and safe access; the announcement does not quantify how many customers were restored through switching alone.
SSEN says crews will work where conditions allow safe access. The Scottish Government’s separate October 25 resilience update describes the wider response; its figures have a different reporting scope and are not substituted for the operator snapshot above.
Earlier coverage — October 24: Storm Austen recovery and Boelo forecast
The following report retains the October 24 observation times and forecast context. It is not a current Boelo outage count.
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks reported that just over 4,200 customers in its central southern England territory were awaiting restoration at 8:30 a.m. BST on October 24 following Storm Austen. The dated operator update said supplies had been restored to more than 29,000 customers since the storm began.
The figures describe one operator’s territory and a particular observation time. They are not a Britain-wide total or a current live outage count. Restored customers and customers still off supply should not be added to successive snapshots as though each were a separate group.
SSEN cited fallen trees and debris obstructing roads and access tracks as crews worked to repair damaged infrastructure.
A second storm brings forecast risks
The Met Office’s October 24 update warned of strong winds from Storm Boelo, with the greatest potential for disruption in northern areas. Those warnings concern forecast risks; they do not establish that Boelo has already caused the same damage or outage numbers.
Why restoration takes more than switching
Distribution recovery requires damage assessment, safe isolation, access for field crews and coordinated network switching. Vegetation management, network design and emergency preparation influence both exposure and the ability to restore service.
Further operator updates will determine the restoration picture. The dated figures above should be read alongside live utility information rather than treated as an enduring measure of storm impact.