Award-winning TV presenter and broadcaster Jennifer Reoch has returned to our HQ to meet the people at the heart of our storm response, the control room engineers, and see first-hand how an innovative trial project, Predict4Resilience (P4R), is helping them prepare for and respond to severe weather.
Jennifer joined our Storm Shielders and stepped inside our nerve centre, where control room engineers monitor the network and coordinate the response to extreme conditions. Here, she discovered how P4R, one of several tools in the control room’s decision-making toolbox, is adding a new level of precision to storm planning.
Before P4R, much of the storm planning relied on the legacy knowledge of experienced engineers, drawing on personal recollections of how the network was impacted in similar weather conditions. That human judgement remains essential but is now backed by decades of historic weather and fault data, combined with advanced modelling and real-time forecasts, giving the control room a clearer picture of what’s coming and where resources will be needed most.
Funded by Ofgem’s Strategic Innovation Fund and trialled in partnership with Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks Distribution, P4R is designed to translate weather forecasts into early insights about likely network impacts, enabling more precise resource allocation, making sure the right people, vehicles, and equipment are ready ahead of time.
The system has already proven its worth in trials. During Storm Amy in October 2025, P4R issued red warnings for most SP Distribution districts days before the Met Office issued its own alerts, giving engineers crucial extra preparation time. On the highest impact day, it forecasted faults with 96% accuracy. Existing processes alone could have led to under or over preparation for the severity of the weather front but P4R helped avoid that outcome and saw 95% of affected customers reconnected within 24 hours.
Jennifer said: “It has been a very surreal experience to be able to step into the control room and be shown another side to that storm response. It really spotlighted the planning, the coordination, and the calm focus that goes into making sure communities are supported before, during, and after severe weather.”
Fraser Lynch, Senior Control Engineer at SP Energy Networks, said: “Ahead of severe weather, we mobilise hundreds of engineers, vehicles, and generators, alongside thousands of pieces of essential equipment, so we’re ready to restore power as quickly and safely as possible. P4R doesn’t replace the experience of our people, it’s an additional tool that helps us make better-informed decisions, faster. It’s about combining human judgment with the best available data to keep our customers connected.”
The trial phase of P4R will run until late 2026, with plans for full integration into SPEN’s operations if successful. The project is also expected to deliver significant financial, social, and environmental benefits from faster mobilisation and reduced outage times to avoided unnecessary standby costs and lower carbon emissions.
In the unlikely event of a power cut, our top tips for staying safe include:
- Ensure you store a battery-powered or wind-up torch in an easily accessible location so you can use it to check the fuse box and navigate around your home safely.
- Power lines may fall because of stormy weather so beware of this when venturing out of your home. Always treat them as live, stay away and report them right away by calling 999.
- Having your mobile phone charged means you can give SP Energy Networks a call on the national 105 emergency helpline. Please don’t assume we know if your power is out, so call us right away.
- If your power does go out, your heating might not work, so keep extra blankets nearby and close window shutters, blinds or curtains to help keep the heat in.
- Teams work around the clock to restore electricity as quickly as possible but customers who feel they need extra support may be eligible for the Priority Services Register. Visit the SP Energy Networks website or call 0330 10 10 167 for more information.
- Make sure we have up-to-date contact details for you, so we can keep in touch with you as appropriate.