Three people died and thousands of homes were left without power for days as a result of Storm Arwen.
Some customers were still waiting to be reconnected for well over a week after the 100mph winds struck the east coast, despite repeated assurances from electricity companies that power was about to be restored.
The Scottish affairs committee inquest yesterday paid tribute to the professionals and volunteers who stepped up during the crisis.
But while politicians and power companies were in agreement that such an event should not be allowed to occur again, there was little real examination of why such a large-scale outage for so long could happen at all.
Storms of 100mph are uncommon but the infrastructure should be built with enough resilience to cope.
SP Energy Network chief Guy Jefferson gave a clue to what led to the problem when he suggested the so-called A-roads, the main power lines across Scotland, had been strengthened over the years but that the minor lines going out to rural areas on the east coast had been neglected.
The west of Scotland, which bears the brunt of the winter, rarely sees power outages now because electricity companies have learned the hard way that they have to invest in proper equipment to withstand storms.
But the chase for privatised power profits meant that the electricity infrastructure on the other side of the country was neglected.
People paid the price for that when the storm hit and they were left in the cold and dark for longer than need be.
The lesson from Storm Arwen is that power companies should be compelled to invest in the right infrastructure for the places they serve. Let’s see poles raised before profits.
Give women help
For years, talking about the menopause was a social taboo.
Too many women felt unable to openly discuss what they were going through.
Thanks to brave celebrities like Davina McCall, Kirsty Wark and now Fiona Phillips, the climate has changed.
And it’s not before time when you consider the life-altering impact of the menopause.
Latest figures show up to 90 per cent of women experience menopausal symptoms, with around 25 per cent of those finding them severe and debilitating.
It is important that women are able to find the strength to talk about what they are going through and access help when they need it.
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