Resident’s concern as power cuts continue to hit Nawton and Beadlam

As reported by the Gazette and Herald, resident Andrew Bailey said there had been months of power cuts in Beadlam and Nawton impacting around 76 properties at a time, including one lasting almost 24 hours on December 5.

Northern Powergrid confirmed that this problem was fixed, but another power cut struck at 9pm on Christmas eve, before coming back on at about 11pm.

Andrew said the power went off again last night (December 27) from 9.10pm to 10.50pm.

Read more about the Christmas Eve power cut 

It then went off at 12.30am this morning (December 28) until approximately 2.45am.

A spokesperson for Northern Powergrid said the power cuts on December 24 and 27 were caused by an ‘intermittent fault.’

“There is potentially an issue with a cable but (Northern Powergrid is) currently unable to locate where this fault is. We have fitted fault-finding equipment to help us narrow down the fault but at the moment we don’t have a location,” they said.

The spokesperson was unable to confirm if the most recent power cuts were caused by the fault on December 5.

Andrew previously explained how these power cuts were impacting vulnerable people in the area, such as his 57-year-old wife who suffers from aspergillosis (severe allergy to mould and damp spores).

He said his wife needs heating on in the house or becomes very unwell.

"Not only is this bad for anyone who needs heating, elderly or people who are ill, but it is also causing stress, as no one knows when it will come back on again,” he said.

Speaking to the Gazette and Herald today, Andrew said: “It is supposed to turn colder again which doesn’t bode well.”

He urged Northern Powergrid to carry out survey work in the area to find the route of the problems, and prevent further power cuts.

'Northern Powergrid must resolve this issue without any further delay'

Beadlam and Nawton’s County Councillor George Jabbour said: “I was dismayed to hear that many local residents had their power cut on Christmas Eve.

"This is not the first time though! Northern Powergrid has a long track record of letting people down in Beadlam and Nawton.

“This is a serious issue that impacts our community in so many ways. It is not only the case that residents are unable to carry out their jobs -when working from home for example, but there are also significant health and safety risks, including the loss of heating at this extremely cold time of the year and the impact on people’s wellbeing.

Cllr George Jabbour (Image: Cllr George Jabbour)

“Northern Powergrid must resolve this issue without any further delay. Local people have suffered enough! 

"It is time for Northern Powergrid to take decisive action and fix the fault once and for all. Surely this will be a more efficient use of the engineers’ time than to keep implementing sticking-plaster solutions every time there is a power cut.

“Furthermore, appropriate compensations must be paid to the affected residents given the horrific situation that they have had to endure for so long.”

A spokesperson for Northern Powergrid, said: “We are sorry for the disruption caused by an intermittent fault on our underground network. On each occasion the fault caused the safety fuse at the local substation to activate, temporarily cutting supplies.

“Intermittent faults can be difficult to locate. We have carried out a repair to a section of cable, replaced the fuses in the local substation and we have installed specialist equipment so we can closely monitor our network and take action if there is any further disruption to customers’ supplies.

“We understand how inconvenient a power cut can be for our customers and we will be keeping them and Cllr Jabbour updated. 

“In line with industry Guaranteed Standards, any customers eligible for compensation will receive a payment.”

A spokesperson for Kevin Hollinrake, MP for Thirsk and Malton, said: "Kevin completely understands residents' concerns. He has raised this directly with Northern Powergrid and will press for an urgent resolution to the issues."

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