Storm Ciaran in France: power cut payouts to homes begin

Compensation payouts from France’s electrical grid supplier Enedis to homes affected by power cuts during Storm Ciaran last November are set to begin.

Over a million homes lost power during the violent storms, the majority of which were in Brittany and Normandy.

Some homes in the hardest-hit areas were without power for almost two weeks, and many went for at least a day without electricity.

Enedis, which manages the supply as well as infrastructure of France’s electrical systems, has earmarked €130 million in compensation.

This comes on top of a further €70 million required to repair the grid after the storms.

Compensation rates vary but some households may receive more than €900. This is in addition to any payouts from insurance companies.

Compensation is automatic

Residents affected by power cuts do not have to request compensation, as Enedis states the process is automatic and based on calculations by the company.

“Enedis pays the sum in question to the electricity supplier, which then transfers it to the customer's energy bill,” says the company on its website.

This means that the compensation is deducted from your next energy bill(s) where applicable, instead of you receiving a payment directly to your bank account.

Not everyone who experienced a power cut will automatically receive compensation, however, as it is only paid out in cases where outages last five hours or longer.

Payouts from Enedis are usually €2 per 1,000 VA (volt-amperes) of power, up to a maximum of eight hours per day for eight days.

You can read more about how payouts work in our article here.

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SEE: Dramatic scenes of storm Ciaran battering north-west France