NIE warns of compensation scammers as 6,500 still without power

Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) said they aware of scam messages in relation to compensation after Storm Éowyn left thousands without power.

About 6,500 properties in Northern Ireland are still without power one week on from the storm.

An NIE spokesperson said NIE Networks is not issuing messages in relation to compensation and warned customers not to "share personal details or click URLs".

"We ask that customers do not engage, block and report the suspicious number," said NIE.

They added that their customer centre continue to receive calls relating to potential compensation payments, but for now their priority remains on "supporting those people who remain without power".

At its peak 30% of all premises in Northern Ireland had their power disconnected.

The former MP Francie Molloy, who has been without electricity since last Friday, said customers have been "failed".

NIE future networks director, Ronan McKeown, has said the company has a "very robust emergency plan" in place.

Mr Molloy, who lives in Moy, County Tyrone, told BBC Radio Ulster's Good Morning Ulster programme that he fears he will be 10 days without electricity.

"I am sitting in pitch black with a torch," he said.

Talking about how politicians have been responding in the aftermath of the storm, he said: "I don't think enough people are speaking up."

Mr Molloy said that a "company like NIE should be prepared".

"They knew this storm was coming."

Mr McKeown described the aftermath of the storm as "a serious challenge" and said NIE is "working tirelessly" to restore power for customers.

"There are hard yards here ahead of us this weekend but we are committed to making sure everyone's on by Monday night," he said.

He also said he empathises with people who are still without electricity, but said his organisation is "prioritising as best we can" and "working extremely hard right around the clock".

Speaking from a road in Derrymacash, outside Lurgan, Mr McKeown said: "We're into the nitty gritty here in terms of the amount of faults we still have to repair."

Annie Mullan and her husband Vincent run Butterlope social and eco farm near Plumbridge, in County Tyrone.

They were without power and mains water for six days but were able to use a well on the farm as back-up, but neighbours were less fortunate.

"There was some water being delivered to the village and then around the houses," she told BBC Radio Foyle's North West Today programme.

"I think that's quite difficult without water - we have our own well system and we also collect rain water for our livestock."

Having no electricity meant they had to feed those animals earlier, with the benefit of natural light.

Ms Mullan said that without wi-fi they felt "cut off".

"We have no mobile connection here and, once the power goes out, we have no way of communicating with anyone," she said.

On a positive note, she said, the couple and their three sons spent more time together, doing things like playing cards, and she didn't miss the hum of the fridge.

Their electricity was finally restored late on Thursday night.

A number of people in Northern Ireland have been unable to access broadband in their homes since the storm.

In a statement to BBC News NI, broadband provider Fibrus said: "We can't provide an accurate picture until all power outages are resolved.

"We are working closely with NIE as we continue to identify faults and restore service as quickly as possible."

Virgin Media has said there are no ongoing outages or issues to report on its network in Northern Ireland.

Openreach said they "know how frustrating it is to lose your broadband and phone services, and we're working as fast as we can.

"But the reality is that some repairs, like pole replacements, are very complex and will take several days."

Fibrus customer Harry Allen, who lives about three miles outside the County Londonderry village of Claudy, said he lost connectivity on the day of the storm.

He said despite numerous attempts to contact Fibrus since, it had been "virtually impossible".

"I have VoIP – voice over internet protocol – with them for my calls, so basically I can't make any landline calls," he told BBC News NI.

"My mobile service is pretty bad, so some days you would have service for your phone, and other days you wouldn't.

"It's difficult, I have a lot of hospital appointments and trying to keep in contact with the hospital and GP and whatever is difficult.

"I was trying to buy an item for one of my grandsons' birthdays and I've only been able to get it done today through data with my mobile provider."

Mr Allen said his contract with Fibrus expires in mid-February.

"Am I going to be connected at all before my contract runs out?" he said.

"Am I going to have to pay for the time I was disconnected?

"Somebody needs to tell us what's going on at the very least."

Erin Hanratty, who lives in the small village of Eglish outside Dungannon, County Tyrone, said communication from the company has been "woeful".

Her broadband went down at 06:00 GMT on the day of the storm.

She told BBC News NI that some of her neighbours had been reconnected since, but the majority have not.

"Each person on the street has been told a different thing; some have been told that we are all connected to the same mast and others have been told we're all on different lines, but we are all on the same street," she said.

"I feel for the people taking calls from customers because I know they are under pressure," Ms Hanratty said.

"I have four children; my son has GCSE coursework to send in, so he has to stay longer in school; my other child, who's 11, has additional needs, and they can't use their iPad that they need for stimulation and learning."

Ms Hanratty said she also lost connection during Storm Darragh, adding that she is paying for a service that she is not getting.

"In this area the phone signal and 4G aren't great, so you really do feel cut off. And it's just the lack of communication; it's a complete cold front."

NIE has said that since the storm, 350 engineers have been brought to Northern Ireland from Great Britain and Europe, including some from Finland.

Meanwhile, a generator and trailer was stolen from NI Water from a site near Omagh.

Northern Ireland had its highest gusts in 27 years during the storm.

In the Republic of Ireland, there are 74,000 customers still without power, down from a peak of 768,000.

Water supplies are returning to "normal levels of service" for most customers in the Republic, Uisce Éireann said.

A man died after a tree fell on the car he was driving in Raphoe, County Donegal, on Friday.

To report faults or emergencies you should contact:

Northern Ireland Housing Executive: 03448 920 901

Openreach Damages to Network: 08000 23 20 23 (Individual faults must be logged with Communications Providers)

Gas networks: 0800 002001

NI Water: 03457 44 00 88 or visit niwater.com

Flooding Incident Line: 0300 2000 100

NIE Networks: 03457 643 643 or visit nienetworks.co.uk