Tree felling cuts power to 970 homes

The fault was reported at 8.26pm. Customers had supplies restored in stages with half back on in just over an hour and all but two customers restored by just after 12.30am.

In order to complete final repairs emergency crews had to isolate electricity supplies to 250 customers at 9:10 the next morning. All customers had power restored by 9:45.

Valerie Curran, Customer Relations Manager for the area, urged the public to take care when working close to electricity lines.

“Luckily no-one was injured in this incident but cutting trees near overhead lines must be carried out with extreme caution. Any damage caused to the electricity network brings inconvenience to customers in the surrounding areas and places workers at risk from injury” she said.

If landowners want to cut trees near overhead electricity lines, they are encouraged to visit Northern Ireland Electricity’s website www.niesafety.co.uk for safety advice.