MP presses Northern Powergrid for urgent action on repeated local power cuts

Marie Tidball MP has pressed Northern Powergrid for urgent action to restore a reliable electricity supply to communities across her constituency following repeated power cuts in recent months.

The Member of Parliament for Penistone and Stocksbridge recently met with Northern Powergrid after residents contacted her about outages affecting Oughtibridge, Wharncliffe Side, Langsett and parts of Deepcar and Stocksbridge.

More than 3,000 customers were affected by one recent outage.

During the meeting, Northern Powergrid confirmed that a significant part of the problem is linked to a fault on the Wheatacre Road feeder, which has created a vulnerability in the local electricity network.

Work to address the issue is expected to continue until November 2026 and is intended to resolve that vulnerability.

Marie used the meeting to raise concerns constituents had shared with her about the impact of repeated outages, as well as asking what support is available for vulnerable residents and when customers affected by disruption may be entitled to compensation.

Northern Powergrid highlighted its free Priority Services Membership, which provides additional communication and support during power cuts to people who may need extra help. This can include older people, disabled people, those with medical needs, families with young children, and others who may be particularly vulnerable if their electricity supply is interrupted.

Marie particularly raised the experiences of constituents whose health or medical needs can be affected by an interruption to their electricity supply, including residents who need electricity to keep medication refrigerated.

Northern Powergrid also provided Marie with details of its Guaranteed Standards of Service, which set out the standards customers should expect and the circumstances in which compensation may be payable following an outage or other disruption.

Marie also asked Northern Powergrid to provide her office with a direct point of contact so that concerns raised by constituents can be escalated quickly, including when serious outages happen outside normal working hours.

Following the meeting, Marie Tidball MP said:

“I’ve heard from far too many constituents over recent months about repeated power cuts, and I know how disruptive and frustrating they have been for people across Oughtibridge, Wharncliffe Side, Langsett, Deepcar, Stocksbridge and surrounding communities.

“I wanted clear answers from Northern Powergrid about what has been going wrong and what is being done to fix it. They have now confirmed that a significant part of the problem is linked to the Wheatacre Road feeder, and that work to address the vulnerability this has created is expected to continue until November.

“In the meantime, it’s really important that people who could be particularly badly affected by a power cut know what support is available. I raised directly the experiences of vulnerable constituents, including people whose medical needs depend on having a reliable electricity supply.

“I’m grateful to Northern Powergrid for meeting with me, but I was clear that constituents expect a reliable service and that this needs to be restored with urgency.

“I’ll continue to keep residents updated as this work progresses, and I’ll keep pressing Northern Powergrid to make sure our communities get the reliable electricity network they should be able to expect.”