For immediate release:

LOCAL MSP URGES UK GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION IN REPEATED NEWTON FARM POWER CUTS

Rutherglen MSP Clare Haughey has written to the UK’s new energy secretary, Ed Miliband, asking him to personally intervene after residents in Newton Farm experienced yet another power cut.

According to the MSP, over the past year, Newton Farm households have suffered electricity outages in June 2023, 11th October, 22nd October, 5th December, 5th March 2024, and the most recent of the 18th into 19th July.

In correspondence with Ms Haughey, SP Energy Networks confirmed their engineers found “there was a high voltage cable fault affecting customers in Newton Farm, and the Priory Bridge area of Blantyre”.  They also confirmed that all power was restored in under two hours.

Ms Haughey has been in repeated contact with SP Energy Networks and GTC – the two companies who distribute energy to Newton Farm – over the past year regarding this. After writing to them both last week, she has requested a meeting with them to question them on the repeated power cuts and to query what steps they are taking to resolve this long-standing issue.

She has also written to the UK’s energy secretary, Ed Miliband, urging him to personally intervene to hold the energy companies to account as well as to ensure local residents are properly compensated for the inconvenience.

Under current UK rules, customers are entitled to £95 compensation but only if they are cut off for 12 hours or more. On only one occasion have local residents been eligible for compensation – in October 2023.

Commenting, Ms Haughey said:

“The situation that residents in Newton Farm have been experiencing is completely unacceptable.

“I’ve been in frequent contact with SP Energy Networks and GTC, and met with them previously too, and they’ve provided me with a list of actions they are undertaking to improve local resilience.

“Clearly, however, the issue is persisting.

“As such, I’ve requested a further meeting with SP Energy Networks and GTC to get concrete assurances of how they’ll resolve this for my constituents in the short to longer-term.

“I have also called on the UK Government to intervene and hold the companies to account as Newton Farm residents deserve better.

“I also find it bewildering that despite experiencing around six power cuts in the space of a year, residents haven’t been eligible for compensation other than on one occasion due to tight eligibility criteria.

“This has to change – those impacted should be properly compensated for all the inconvenience they’ve been experiencing.

“I hope the Energy Secretary can look at the levels of compensation and get involved in this matter – many local residents have no trust in SP Energy Networks or GTC to resolve this by themselves.”

ENDS