Residents of Tayside and Fife who were left without power over the weekend as Storm Arwen battered the area may be entitled to compensation.
Homes in Perthshire and Angus could face “several days” of disruption after Storm Arwen battered the area on Friday evening.
The area was badly affected by the storm, which brought winds of more than 90mph.
Abbey House Care Home, on the outskirts of Kirriemuir, was left without full electricity for more than 40 hours.
How much compensation can you claim?
Those affected by the storm may be able to claim compensation, but that will depend on how long the power was out for.
The amount of compensation you can get depends on how many homes were affected by the power cut and whether it was caused by bad weather.
The guidance states that if more than 5,000 homes were affected, a claimant could receive £75 if the power was out for longer than 24 hours and £35 if the power cut was caused by bad weather.
Because the outage was storm-related, it may be possible to claim for an additional £70 if the power was off for 24 hours (this can be 48 hours if it was a severe storm).
And for those affected for several days, claims can be made for £70 compensation for each following 12 hours, up to a maximum of £700.
How to claim compensation
As the power cut was caused by bad weather, you have three months to claim compensation, the Citizens Advice guide states.
Anyone on their supplier’s priority services register will be paid compensation automatically. They will have to claim for a gas power cut.
How you get paid might vary. The distribution company or gas transporter will usually send the payment to your supplier.
Your supplier will then credit it to your account.
They should tell you about this. It’s possible for the distribution company or gas transporter to pay you directly, if they have your details.
Some suppliers will send you a cheque or pay the money into your bank account. If you have a prepayment meter, some suppliers might credit the meter directly.
When can you expect to be paid?
You should be paid within 10 days of you claiming from your electricity supplier or distributor.
Anyone claiming from their gas transporter should be paid within 20 days.
Alternatively, those being paid automatically should receive their payment within 10 days.
If those timescales are not met, another compensation payment is available.
That would be of £30 for a late payment from your electricity supplier, £20 from your gas transporter
Because the power cut was caused by bad weather, payments should be made as soon as possible.
Gas transporters might not have to pay if they took reasonable steps to prevent a power cut during bad weather.
If the electricity distributor or gas transporter tells you that you’re not eligible for compensation, and you disagree, you should complain directly to them.
Use their complaints procedure, which will be on their website.
If you’re not satisfied with their response to your complaint, you can complain to the energy ombudsman.