Power networks could face fines over Christmas blackouts

A "number of questions" need to be answered over the performance of power networks during the Christmas period when thousands of customers were left without power due to a storm, Ofgem said.

Watch: Angry flood victim confronts PM over council 'inaction'

Senior partner Ian Marlee told ITV News: "What we've seen is the network companies do some good work, we've seen them restoring supplies under difficult conditions, we've seen them having learned the lessons of previous disruptions, for example, offering meals to people who are cut off.

"Nonetheless, there are a number of questions that remain outstanding, for example...were the companies prepared sufficiently? Did they act quickly enough to restore supplies? Was the information they provided to consumers adequate?

"These questions need to be answered and we will be getting a report from the companies and clearly if that means lessons need to be learned or regulatory action needs to be taken then we will do so."

Read: More than half a million homes affected by blackouts

At least 550,000 homes and businesses were affected by blackouts over the festive period, according to figures from the Energy Networks Association.

Some 100,000 properties were still without power on Christmas Eve, dropping to 24,000 by the end of Christmas Day as engineers worked around the clock.

Southern and eastern parts of the UK were affected for the longest time, but there were blackouts across the nation over the whole period.

Watch: Angry flood victim confronts PM over council 'inaction'

After thousands of families were stranded without power over Christmas, Ian Marlee from the energy regulator Ofgem has told me that power companies could be fined.

He said it had been "dreadful" for many families and that Ofgem will now be asking the power networks to show they responded efficiently and quickly enough.

Marlee told me there had been some good practice and it was "too early" to say if the power companies had failed in their duty to consumers. But he said Ofgem could take a range of action against the firms if they were found to have let consumers down.

Read: More than half a million homes affected by blackouts

In an interview with Business Editor Laura Kuenssberg, energy regulator Ofgem warns power suppliers could face fines over the delays that led customers to be left with no electricity on Christmas Day: