Also in the news / Power cut, RNLI fundraising, COPE celebrates and resilience fund
MORE than 200 households and businesses in Voe, Bixter and the surrounding areas lost their electricity just before midday on Monday.
A spokesperson for SSEN Distribution said that on “the rare occasions there is a fault”, the company’s priority is to restore supplies as safely and as quickly as possible.
He said supplies to the majority of those affected were restored by 1pm while engineers are on site to reconnect 71 properties which were expected to have their power back by 3pm.
“We would like to apologise to our customers in Voe, Bixter and the surrounding areas who have been affected by this morning’s power cut and assure those customers currently without power that our engineers are doing all they can to restore their supplies as safely and as quickly as possible,” the spokesperson said.
MORE than £12,000 has been raised for the RNLI by two well supported community events, including the auctioning of a ‘coxswain’s carrot cake’ which raised over £300 alone.
April’s online Aith Lifeboat auction raised over £5,000 by selling off a host of prizes and experiences donated by local RNLI supporters.
This was followed in June by the popular Aith Lifeboat Gala, centred around the village’s lifeboat station – which raised a further £7,000.
Carrot cake baker extraordinaire and Aith lifeboat coxswain John Robertson paid tribute to the remarkable generosity of the Shetland public.
“Both the online auction and the Aith Lifeboat Gala were very well supported, which is so appreciated and important to the local crew,” he said.
“The money raised will help meet the costs of training, safety kit, rescue equipment, and lifeboat maintenance to keep saving lives quickly, safely and effectively in the seas around Shetland.”
A TWENTY five mile relay is one of the events taking place at COPE Ltd’s 25th anniversary celebrations later this month.
The event will take place at the Gilbertson Park in Lerwick on 25 June.
A key feature is the 25-mile walking, cycling, and running relay event, which will start at 10am.
The start has been planned so that the participating COPE team can be joined for the final laps, after 2pm, by event attendees.
COPE chief executive officer Steven Coutts said: “Team COPE will take to the track at 10am so that we can cover the majority of the 25 miles before the main event starts at 2pm.
“We very much look forward to participants, staff, directors, friends, family, and the wider community joining us in the latter stages to create a spectacular finish.
“And, for those not taking part in the relay, we still need you there to cheer us on. We will be relying on the crowd for support and encouragement to get us through the final stages. The afternoon promises to be a lot of fun with games, displays, food and drink.”
Other events include a raffle and a silent auction, as well as a 25-metre bunting.
For more information visit the COPE website here.
SCOTTISH and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) Distribution has launched its latest Resilient Communities Fund, which is worth £157,000 in total.
The scheme enables communities across the north of Scotland to apply for awards that will help them to build resilience in the face of prolonged power interruptions, for example during storms and severe weather events which can damage the electricity infrastructure.
To find out more about the Resilient Communities Fund visit here.
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