'Goodwill storm payment is the least that should happen'

Providing people with goodwill payments who were left without power for days after Storm Éowyn is the least politicians and electricity providers could do, a customer has said.

Storm Éowyn brought winds of more than 90mph to Northern Ireland on 24 January, damaging electricity and telecoms infrastructure.

The first and deputy first ministers had called on Northern Ireland's electricity distribution company (NIE Networks) to "step up" and provide support.

The Department for the Economy said there were "no existing routes" to compensation at present.

NIE said it worked with the Department for the Economy (DfE) and the Utility Regulator to assess the viability of the creation of a severe weather compensation scheme.

The DfE said that had NIE Networks not applied the severe weather exemption, customers would pay 50% of the cost of compensation through their electricity bills next year and NIE shareholders would have to agree to "bear the rest".

It added that "no other electricity company shareholders in Britain or Ireland" had been asked to bear the cost of compensation for Storm Éowyn.

Mr Rea, from Bleary near Portadown, has severe mobility issues and says he was left without power for five days

"We stayed in the house for two nights and the second night we couldn't take any more and we had to go because the house was freezing," he told BBC News NI.

"We thought it was just going to be off for a day or two but once it started going past three days it was starting to get a bit unhealthy.

"At the time it was a complete nightmare."

Mr Rea said he spent about £200 between B&B stays and takeout meals and all the travelling added to his "pain and stress".

"These goodwill payments was the least the politicians and NIE could have done – it's a bit disingenuous of them and my mind, it's bordering on looking after their own shareholders rather than their customers," he said.

"I wasn't relying on the payment but it's just the principal of the whole thing, it's the idea that other people who are worse off than me that won't get it – I don't think it's fair on them."

Nicola Graham and her five children, aged between eight months and 12-years-old, were without power for six days.

Speaking to BBC Radio Ulster's Evening Extra programme, the Ballymena mother said she lost between £200-£300 of food in her fridge-freezer.

"It was awful living for six days with no electric," Ms Graham said.

"We lost a full fridge-freezer of food so that all had to be thrown out; that was quite a lot of money to waste and then obviously we had to eat out most nights for dinner at £30-£40 per night.

"It was money that we shouldn't have had to spend."

Some 285,000 households and businesses in Northern Ireland lost power during the storm and damage was caused to various buildings.

In the days after the storm, First Minister Michelle O'Neill and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly called on NIE to provide financial support.

The executive asked DfE to establish if payments could be "recovered through customer electricity bills".

However, after setting up a working group, the department made an announcement on Monday.

A DfE spokesperson said: "NIE Networks has applied a severe weather exemption provided for in legislation under which customers can apply for compensation if they have been off electricity supply.

"The working group concluded that any other options involving recovery of payments from network charges would require legal or regulatory modifications which cannot be applied retrospectively for those customers impacted by Storm Éowyn."

They added that all bodies involved in the response to the storm would be considering what lessons could be learned and what "appropriate and affordable measures" could be made to reduce the impact of future storms.

NIE also said they would continue to work with all parties to ensure that it delivers all requirements as set out in legislation and in its licence.

"As a regulated company, the earnings and expenditure of NIE Networks are set out in a publicly consulted on regulated price control process which is carried out by the Utility Regulator," they added.

"NIE Networks is legally required to work within this process."

The Utility Regulator said that any other option considered by the working group, other than the severe weather exemption, would "require legal or regulatory modifications which cannot be applied retrospectively for Storm Éowyn".

It said it would continue to engage with the department and NIE Networks in respect of any future steps.

Insurance cover and compensation can vary significantly depending on the impact and individual policy details.