Approximately 45,000 Scottish electricity customers were still without power according to the latest available network operator reports on Sunday evening, 25 October 2026, as engineers continued repairing widespread damage caused by Storm Boelo. The figure represents a substantial improvement from earlier in the afternoon, but tens of thousands of homes and businesses remain disconnected.
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) confirmed that 38,000 customers remained without electricity across northern Scotland at 7pm, down from more than 47,000 at 3pm. The company also reported that more than 54,000 customers had had their electricity restored since the storm began on Saturday.
SP Energy Networks separately reported approximately 7,000 customers still without power across central and southern Scotland at 5pm. Combining the operators’ latest published Scottish figures gives an indicative total of around 45,000 affected electricity connections.
The reports were issued two hours apart, so the combined figure is not a simultaneous national count. The total may have changed as engineers restored supplies or further faults developed.
Importantly, the falling number of customers currently without electricity does not diminish the overall scale of the storm. SSEN’s figures alone show that more than 54,000 customers have already had their power restored, while another 38,000 remained disconnected at 7pm.
Together, those two reported figures exceed 92,000 restored-or-outstanding customer counts in northern Scotland. However, the operator has not established whether its cumulative restoration figures exclude customers who experienced more than one interruption. The figures therefore cannot be presented as a verified count of 92,000 separate properties.
How Many Customers Have Been Without Electricity?
The number of properties without electricity has changed substantially throughout Sunday as Storm Boelo moved across Scotland.
| Reporting time | SSEN — Northern Scotland | SP Energy Networks — Southern Scotland |
|---|---|---|
| 11am Sunday | More than 24,000 without power; more than 19,500 restored | Approximately 6,000 without power |
| 3pm Sunday | More than 47,000 without power; more than 32,500 restored | No simultaneous figure confirmed |
| 5pm Sunday | No new published total at this time | Approximately 7,000 without power |
| 7pm Sunday | 38,000 without power; more than 54,000 restored | Latest published figure remained 7,000 at 5pm |
The highest combined Scottish estimate identified from the operators’ afternoon statements was approximately 54,000 customers awaiting restoration, using SSEN’s 3pm figure and SP Energy Networks’ 5pm figure. Because the reports were not simultaneous, this is not an officially established peak.
Earlier, the Scottish Government reported that approximately 40,000 customers were without electricity and 26,000 had been restored. Those figures were published at 3.30pm and differ from the network operators’ own updates. The discrepancy has not been publicly reconciled.
A household that loses electricity and subsequently has it restored remains part of the storm’s overall impact even though it is no longer included in the outstanding outage count.
The operators report electricity connections, not individual people. Some connections serve several residents, while others supply businesses, farms or unoccupied properties. An accurate total of individual people affected has not been published.
Where Are the Power Cuts?
The most serious disruption initially affected Argyll, Skye, the Western Isles and the western Highlands, where severe winds began damaging electricity infrastructure during Saturday afternoon and evening.
Further faults developed overnight and throughout Sunday as the storm moved across Perthshire, Tayside, Aberdeenshire, Moray, Caithness and the Northern Isles.
In central and southern Scotland, Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway have been particularly affected by falling trees and debris damaging overhead electricity lines.
Individual outage information available during Sunday evening shows that some communities face substantially longer interruptions than others.
The following selected incidents were listed by UK Power Cut, an independent service displaying outage information drawn from network operators. These figures are provisional, and the restoration estimates should be checked directly with SSEN before being relied upon by individual households.
| Area and reference | Properties | Power lost | Estimated restoration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harris area — UF1307 | 1,684 | 25 Oct, 4.08am | 27 Oct, 8pm |
| Fraserburgh — UF3043 | 1,634 | 25 Oct, 12.07pm | 27 Oct, 8pm |
| Colintraive and surrounding supply area — UF1336 | 1,279 | 24 Oct, 10.42pm | 28 Oct, 8pm |
| Garve area — UF3587 | 973 | 25 Oct, 1.35pm | 26 Oct, 5pm |
| Oban and surrounding area — UF1360 | 926 | 25 Oct, 4.27am | 27 Oct, 8pm |
| Tighnabruaich — UF1317 | 757 | 25 Oct, 4.42am | 28 Oct, 8pm |
| Aberfeldy — UF3196 | 722 | 25 Oct, 12.12pm | 26 Oct, 5pm |
| Mull area — UF1472 | 364 | 24 Oct, 5.16pm | 28 Oct, 8pm |
| Wick, Caithness — UF3297 | 17 | 25 Oct, 12.33pm | 26 Oct, 5pm |
The table contains selected interruptions, not every outstanding fault. Some locations have several separate incidents affecting different properties, and broad outage areas can include communities beyond the town named in the record.
The individual restoration estimates may also differ from the network operator’s general recovery forecast. They should therefore be treated as provisional incident-level information rather than confirmed repair deadlines.
Why Is Scotland’s Electricity Network Failing?
Storm Boelo is the confirmed general cause of the widespread disruption. Damaging winds have brought down trees and branches, damaged overhead power lines and made it difficult for engineers to reach affected equipment.
SSEN reported gusts reaching approximately 85mph in parts of northern Scotland. The company said the sustained strength of the winds, extensive infrastructure damage and difficult access caused by fallen trees and flooding were slowing repairs.
SP Energy Networks likewise confirmed that severe winds and heavy rain had brought down trees and debris, causing substantial damage to its overhead distribution infrastructure.
Electricity networks contain protective equipment designed to disconnect circuits when faults occur. This can interrupt power to hundreds or thousands of properties even where a single section of line has been damaged.
Engineers may be able to restore some customers by redirecting electricity through other parts of the network. Other faults require physical repairs, replacement equipment or the removal of fallen trees before reconnection is possible.
Not every individual outage has a publicly confirmed technical cause. An incident shown as an unplanned power cut should not automatically be described as a broken cable or fallen electricity pole unless the operator has established that explanation.
When Will Power Be Restored?
SSEN’s 7pm statement represents an improvement in the expected restoration timetable.
The company said it expects the vast majority of customers who remain without electricity overnight to have their supplies restored on Monday, 26 October.
It anticipates that restoration work for customers affected by Storm Boelo will continue into Tuesday, 27 October.
However, some individual incidents displayed by the independent outage tracker still carry provisional restoration estimates extending to Wednesday, 28 October, and a small number extend later.
These differences have not been reconciled at incident level. The company’s overall recovery forecast does not guarantee that every individual fault will be repaired by Tuesday, while estimates appearing on third-party trackers may be revised as new operational information becomes available.
The operators’ live outage maps remain the most appropriate source for the latest restoration estimate for a specific property.
SP Energy Networks has not provided a single confirmed deadline for restoring every customer in its central and southern Scotland area.
More Than 54,000 Reconnected in Northern Scotland
SSEN confirmed that its engineering teams had restored electricity to more than 54,000 customers by 7pm on Sunday.
The work involved both physical repairs and remote switching carried out by control-room engineers. Where alternative network routes were available, electricity could be redirected around damaged infrastructure without waiting for all repairs to be completed.
Additional tree-cutting teams have been deployed to clear routes to affected lines and equipment.
SSEN has cancelled planned maintenance scheduled for Monday, releasing further engineering resources for storm repairs. Hundreds of additional personnel have been involved in the response.
SP Energy Networks reported restoring more than 101,000 customers across its three distribution networks by 5pm.
That figure covers central and southern Scotland, north-west England and parts of Wales. It is not a Scottish restoration total and must not be added to SSEN’s figure to calculate the number of Scottish customers reconnected.
For Scotland alone, the latest published SP Energy Networks statement identified approximately 7,000 customers still without electricity.
Why Rural and Island Communities Can Face Longer Repairs
The structure of Scotland’s electricity network creates particular difficulties during severe weather, especially in remote areas.
Many communities depend on overhead electricity lines crossing exposed hillsides, wooded terrain and extensive rural landscapes. Damage to an important supply route can interrupt electricity to several settlements.
Locating a fault may require engineers to inspect long sections of line. Repair teams can then face blocked roads, fallen trees, flooding or dangerous conditions that prevent work at height.
Island communities may also depend on ferry services and specialist transport arrangements to move personnel and equipment.
These practical difficulties help explain why relatively small groups of properties can remain disconnected longer than some larger communities.
SSEN has warned that further strong winds and heavy rain may affect northern Scotland on Tuesday, creating the possibility of additional damage during the restoration operation.
Preparations are therefore continuing for another period of severe weather while engineers work to complete repairs from Storm Boelo.
Customers Without Electricity May Be Entitled to Food and Accommodation Support
SSEN has confirmed additional assistance for customers experiencing prolonged interruptions.
According to the company’s storm response statement, customers without electricity for more than 12 hours are entitled to claim up to £30 per person for each day without power towards food and drink.
Customers should retain their receipts and submit claims through the company’s storm support process.
Customers registered for Priority Services may also claim reasonable alternative accommodation costs if their power has been off for more than 24 hours.
Where an interruption is estimated to exceed 48 hours, the company says this accommodation assistance can be made available to other affected customers as well.
These arrangements are separate from any statutory compensation that may become payable under electricity network regulations, which depends on the duration of an interruption and the circumstances involved.
SSEN is also preparing a welfare operation, with support vehicles expected to visit affected communities from Monday morning where access and weather conditions permit.
The company said it had contacted vulnerable customers and had sent advance text messages to more than 220,000 people registered for Priority Services in areas considered most likely to experience disruption.
Scottish Government Coordinates the Emergency Response
The Scottish Government’s Resilience Room met on Sunday afternoon to examine the impact of Storm Boelo on electricity supplies, transport, flooding and public safety.
Ministers received information from electricity providers, emergency services, Transport Scotland, the Met Office and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.
Flooding has affected properties in Largs and Saltcoats, while fallen trees and floodwater have damaged or blocked roads.
The storm has also disrupted railways, ferry services and air travel. Network Rail confirmed that engineers were continuing to clear debris, repair damaged equipment and inspect lines before restoring services.
The Met Office’s amber wind warning was scheduled to remain in force until 9pm on Sunday. Further unsettled weather is expected early in the week.
How to Check Your Power Cut
Electricity customers should use their postcode or incident reference to check the latest restoration information.
In northern Scotland, the Highlands and islands, SSEN operates PowerTrack, which provides details of reported power cuts, affected areas and estimated restoration times.
Customers in central and southern Scotland should consult the SP Energy Networks power-cut service.
The free national power-cut telephone number is 105. Customers can use it to report damaged electricity infrastructure or obtain information from the appropriate network operator.
People should remain well away from fallen electrical cables, damaged poles and other potentially dangerous equipment. All damaged power lines must be treated as live.
Residents who rely on electricity for medical equipment or require additional assistance should contact their network operator about its Priority Services arrangements.
What the Latest Figures Mean
Storm Boelo has caused far more disruption than the number of customers who remain without electricity at any single moment.
At 3pm on Sunday, SSEN reported more than 47,000 customers still disconnected in northern Scotland. By 7pm, that figure had fallen to 38,000, while the number of customers whose supplies had been restored had risen to more than 54,000.
Across central and southern Scotland, SP Energy Networks reported a further 7,000 customers awaiting reconnection at 5pm.
The combined outstanding figure of approximately 45,000 therefore represents the latest available operator information, rather than the total number affected since the storm began.
Neither company has yet published a reconciled, Scotland-wide count of unique customers who lost electricity at least once during Storm Boelo.
The cumulative restoration figures and earlier outage totals demonstrate that the disruption has already affected considerably more electricity connections than the number currently awaiting restoration.
Further updates will be needed to establish the final scale of the emergency, the number of customers experiencing prolonged interruptions and the time required to complete all outstanding repairs.
EDITORIAL UPDATE — 25 October 2026, 8.05pm: SSEN’s 7pm statement confirms 38,000 customers still without electricity in northern Scotland and more than 54,000 restored since the storm began. SP Energy Networks’ most recent published Scottish figure remains approximately 7,000 without power at 5pm. The indicative combined outstanding total is therefore around 45,000 connections. Earlier outage figures have been retained in the article to document the overall scale of the storm. Individual restoration estimates remain subject to change.
Sources
- Storm Boelo Evening Update — Restoration Totals, Outstanding Customers and Recovery Plans, Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks, 25 October 2026, 7pm.
- Severe Weather Update — Storm Boelo, SP Energy Networks, 25 October 2026, 5pm.
- Storm Boelo Update — Scottish Government Resilience Room, Scottish Government, 25 October 2026, 3.30pm.
- PowerTrack — Live Electricity Outages and Restoration Estimates, Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks, accessed 25 October 2026.
- Real Time Outage Dataset, SSEN Distribution Data Portal, 25 October 2026.
- SSEN North Scotland — Individual Outage References, Start Times and Restoration Estimates, UK Power Cut, third-party outage tracking service, accessed 25 October 2026.
- Power Cuts and Restoration Information, SP Energy Networks, live customer information service.
- Storm-Related Food, Drink and Accommodation Claims, Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks, customer support information, October 2026.
- Storm Support — Welfare Locations and Customer Assistance, Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks, October 2026.
- Getting Scotland’s Railway Moving Again After Storm Boelo, Network Rail Scotland, 25 October 2026.
