About 3,300 homes across Tayside have spent a fourth night without electricity after the damage caused by Storm Arwen.
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) says it remains at red alert status as engineers respond to the severe impact of the storm.
A total of 1,700 homes in Perthshire and 1,600 in Angus were among 17,000 households in Scotland still without power as of Monday night.
During the day a further 7,000 homes were reconnected, with more than 100,000 properties now having had supplies restored since Friday’s storm.
It is expected that further properties will be reconnected by Tuesday, but smaller faults affecting single households or groups of houses may take longer.
SSEN is urging affected customers in that situation to “consider alternative arrangements”.
The power problems have already led to school closures across Angus and Perthshire on Monday and Tuesday.
A resilience centre in Angus was put into action to help people during the high winds.
And members of one Perthshire community say lives were put at risk during the power cut and severe weather.
SSEN provides update on Storm Arwen
Mark Rough, director of customer operations at SSEN, said: “We continue to make good progress following the extensive network damage caused by Storm Arwen, with additional teams assisting with restoration efforts and major connections made to locations such as Ballater and Braemar.
“Our engineers are still experiencing challenging conditions and multiple faults on individual circuits, with complex repairs underway that will take longer than normal.
“The extent of the damage is also hampering the ability to re-route the network to restore supply.
“We recognise that another day without power brings additional concern to those affected, and I’d like to apologise to all customers for the ongoing disruption and assure them that we are doing all we can to restore power. All available resources are being focused on this effort.”
Among those affected is TV presenter and Evening Telegraph columnist Martel Maxwell, whose house remains without power.
She tweeted: “After five days [of] no power – for us, no water either. I’ve got three wee ones and it’s absolutely freezing.”
My neighbour (with a newborn) did call, to be told you were trying to find an engineer and not to check out of her hotel.After five days if no power – for us, no water either. I’ve got three wee ones and it’s absolutely freezing. @ssencommunity @SSE https://t.co/kMwuvtTIV2
— Martel Maxwell (@MartelMaxwell) November 30, 2021
The company apologised and said the damage was “some of the worst seen in a decade”.
Mr Rough added: “We continue to prioritise support for vulnerable customers, through co-ordination with our resilience partners, and are also offering to reimburse reasonable costs for accommodation, where customers do not have any alternative option.
“With customer contact centre lines remaining extremely busy, we continue to encourage customers impacted to only phone if it is an emergency or if they need extra help, to keep the line clear for vulnerable customers who may need extra support.”
SSEN is providing hot food and drinks to people on its priority services register from 7am on Tuesday near the Bon Scott statue in Kirriemuir and at Dalrulzion Hotel at Glenshee.
