Councillors from Lisburn, Ballymena, Omagh, Strabane and Craigavon visited Northern Ireland Electricity's (NIE) Control Centre recently to understand how the company deals with power cuts and plans for emergencies.

During the visit Councillors saw NIE's call centre and the IT systems which control Northern Ireland's electricity distribution network.

Specialised dispatch analysts and control engineers also talked them through how engineers are sent out to repair power cuts and some of the automatic controls that can be used on the electricity network.

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Councillors spent two hours at NIE's control centre talking to staff, touring the centre, and learning how escalation procedures are kick started when an emergency situation arises such as a massive power cut in Northern Ireland due to stormy weather. Councillors also found out how local power cuts are dealt with on a daily basis and were informed about the programmes that help people who are dependent on electricity for their health care needs.

Valerie Curran, NIE Customer Relations Manager for the Lisburn area, welcomed the Council visit said: "We appreciate Councillors taking the time to visit our Control Centre in Craigavon and to understand how we plan and deal with power cuts and other customer issues on a daily basis and during severe weather.

"Elected representatives help us to distribute information to their constituents so it is important that they are aware of how we work and some of the programmes that we have in place such as our critical care register for people who rely on electricity for their health care needs."

(CD/GK)