Northern Ireland’s electricity watchdog has praised the Belfast Telegraph for its Power Watch Campaign.

The newspaper highlighted the plight of 600,000 Northern Ireland Electricity customers after problems with the supply.

The paper was thanked by the chairman of the consumer committee on electricity, Felicity Huston.

She said: “It is excellent that the Telegraph is doing this because it is important for the media to take it up.”

NIE had been criticised for a loss of power to homes in the region, and a breakdown of their phone network, meaning customers were left without power and having to listen to a recorded message when they contacted the electricity provider.

The company made goodwill payments to those who had been left without power but a leading Assemblyman slammed these as a sham when 100,000 were left in the dark again last week.

Joe Byrne, of the SDLP, said: “They think they can fob off the customer with these so-called goodwill payments. It is unacceptable in the 21st century that households should be without power for so long and the meagre payments they have offered customers are no substitute.”

Head of corporate affairs Peter Gavan spoke to the newspaper about the payments, he said: “It is something we did not have to do, no one can compensate for the inconvenience of power loss. But at least we can share to some extent in the plight of those who had their power off the longest.”

Following the campaign by the Belfast Telegraph, the electricity company set up a freephone helpline for people who wanted information about making a claim.

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