Extra crews of engineers have arrived by ferry in Shetland to help with repairs as thousands of homes experience their third day without power in freezing weather.
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) Distribution is working to reconnect around 2,800 homes but warned that some may be without power until the end of the week.
The Scottish Government declared a major incident on Tuesday after thousands of homes lost power in Shetland on Monday afternoon as heavy snow brought down lines.
SSEN Distribution said 15 power line crews arrived in Shetland on the first ferry from the mainland on Wednesday and more are leaving for the islands throughout the course of the day – with 125 additional engineers in total due to support local teams.
Mark Macdonald, head of region at SSEN Distribution, said: “Through great collaboration with resilience and travel partners, we’re getting teams, equipment, and large-scale generation on the island now to help us enact our restoration plan and make continued progress in restoring power to our customers.
“We’ve had 15 power line crews arrive on the first ferry this morning, with another 15 crews leaving tonight and many more expected to arrive by plane and helicopter to support our local teams.
“Now that it’s safe to fly, we’re organising helicopter patrols to fly our overhead lines and assess the extent of the damage, which will help us better target our restoration strategy.”
SSEN Distribution is offering to reimburse food costs for all customers currently without power and reasonable accommodation costs for customers on its priority services register who are unable to make alternative arrangements.
Emma Macdonald, leader of Shetland Islands Council, said: “We don’t normally get much snow, we get a lot of wind and gales, and it has had a significant impact.
“We have so many lines down and people could be without electricity until the end of the week.
“About 70 engineers have come across on the boat (from the mainland) and they are doing everything they can, but it is a challenging task as the weather is poor and the wind is picking up.
“It’s not the fault of the power company, they are doing everything they can to get connected.
“We are a resilient community and are often cut off during the winter if the ferry doesn’t run.
“We do all pull together.”
The Met Office has extended a yellow warning for snow and ice covering northern Scotland and north-east England until noon on Friday.
Minus 17.3C was recorded at Braemar in Aberdeenshire on Monday into Tuesday, making it the coldest place in the UK for the second night in a row.
A temperature of minus 11.8C was recorded at Drumalbin in South Lanarkshire overnight into Wednesday, with six weather stations recording a temperature lower than minus 10C.
Heavy snow showers fell in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire early on Wednesday and motorists were warned to drive with care.
Dozens of schools have been closed, including all schools in Shetland.
In the Highlands, searches are continuing for Rodrigo Falcon, 33, who has been missing with no coat for three days in freezing conditions.
He was last seen heading down Grampian Road towards the southern end of Aviemore at around 3.10am on Sunday.
Warmer Atlantic air is set to replace the chilled Arctic air mass over the weekend, Met Office spokesman Grahame Madge said.
But that could bring snow with it as the incoming moist air reacts with the sitting chilly conditions.
Mr Madge said the conditions on Shetland are set to remain challenging for the engineers there.
“They are still well in the grip of this Northern flow,” he said. “Strong winds continue to be a hazard, as well as further snow showers.”
The milder spell may only last from the weekend until Tuesday, with more unsettled weather expected to bring temperatures back down, although not as intensely cold as at the moment.
In Sheffield, engineers said they had just over 100 households left to reconnect to gas as of Tuesday evening after nearly 2,000 homes in the city lost supplies 11 days earlier when a burst water main filled the local gas network with more than a million litres of water.
