Storm Eowyn tore through Cumbria over the weekend and left devastation in its wake. Thousands of local premises were without power, in some cases for almost four days. It was a difficult time for our community, but it also showed the best of us.
I want to put on record my thanks to the engineers who worked round the clock to get homes reconnected to the grid as quickly as possible; to the council employees who were busy clearing highways and keeping residents up to date; to the emergency services who responded to a range of incidents with professionalism; to all the local businesses and community groups who offered up their premises as a warm place to stay; and to every individual who checked on a neighbour or cleared debris.
My office was in constant contact with Electricity North West throughout the weekend, relaying information about communities that remained without power, passing on requests for door knockers and catering vans to visit isolated areas and sending details of vulnerable individuals who needed extra assistance for follow up. I’m pleased we were able to help a number of people and thank Electricity North West staff for being so responsive.
There are however lessons to be learned from this to ensure a more efficient response next time and better communication and I’d welcome feedback from residents about what ENW can do better before I meet with them in the coming weeks. Get in touch via my website at joshmacalister.uk/contact or by calling 01946 458023.
What also became clearer this weekend is the impact of the digital phone line switchover during power cuts. In many rural areas with a mobile signal reliant on one mast and where landlines are now connected via the internet, a power cut lasting more than half an hour leaves them with no way to communicate. I’ve already raised some individual cases about this with mobile network operators and BT following other recent power cuts but I’ll now be bringing all the relevant stakeholders together in Parliament for a wider discussion about how we can ensure rural communities stay connected during power cuts as the digital switchover continues. Sign up to my e-newsletter to keep up to date with my work on this and other issues: joshmacalister.uk/enews.
Finally, I promised to be a visible and accessible MP and I am keeping that promise, with a range of public events scheduled right across West Cumbria up to the end of April which you can find and register to attend at joshmacalister.uk/meetjosh or by calling my office on the number above. Upcoming events include a coffee morning in Whitehaven, a drop-in in Workington and a public meeting in Cleator Moor this Friday.
Josh MacAlister MP 