Utilities giant SSE has confirmed that a large power outage took place on the Western Isles and Skey today.
More than 23,000 homes were without power for around five hours after a landslip connected with an overhead cable.
Supply is thought to have been affected from 9am with SSE confirming the restoration of power by 2pm.
A spokesperson from SSEN said: “SSEN is progressing with efforts to restore power to customers in the Western Isles and on Skye affected by a fault on its transmission network this morning.
“As of 2pm, power has been restored to 18,000 homes with engineers working to reconnect the remaining 5,000 homes in North Skye and parts of Tarbert through the course of this afternoon. Welfare facilities offering free food and drinks have been set up in Jansvans cafe in Portree and Uig Village Hall in Uig.
“SSEN received reports of the fault shortly after 9am and immediately started carrying out investigations. This included the deployment of a helicopter patrol, which identified damage to the overhead line network caused by a landslip to the west of Invergarry. A team is currently on site to assess impact and options for repair.
“Whilst this repair is ongoing, power supplies are being restored through alternative means. This includes re-routing supplies from other parts of the network, utilising back-up power stations and the deployment of mobile generation.
“SSEN is contacting customers who are on its Priority Service Register to offer help and support and would encourage anyone who may have concerns or require extra assistance to call the power cut helpline, 105.”
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