They are the “castaways” of the storm. Two weeks after Ciaran’s passage, 5,800 homes are still plunged into darkness in Brittany, deprived of electricity and as if cut off from the world. It is in Finistère, the most affected department, that the power is longest awaited with 4,700 customers still impacted according to the latest figures provided Wednesday afternoon by Enedis. “There are also 600 left in Morbihan and 500 in Côtes-d’Armor,” specifies the electricity network manager.
In areas where residents still light by candle, the wait becomes more and more painful. This is the case in the town of Plogoff (Finistère), where a gust of 207 km/h was recorded at Pointe du Raz on the night of the storm. In this town located at the end of Cap Sizun, around a hundred households are still in dire straits. “It’s starting to take a very long time for these residents,” confirms André Marchand, first deputy mayor. There is a form of anger and discouragement among them. » While waiting for power to be restored, there is solidarity and resourcefulness in the town. “Everyone rolls up their sleeves,” says the elected official.
“A matter of days” for a return to normal
Immediately after the storm passed, one of the priorities was to “liberate” the houses plunged into darkness by unblocking the electric shutters using a generator. For the past two weeks, the town hall has also been used as a charging place for telephone and computer batteries and the changing rooms of the football stadium have been requisitioned to allow the “castaways” to take a good hot shower. “We also served a stew last week,” explains André Marchand. It did people good at the time but it doesn’t replace the current. »
When will he come back? “It’s a question of days,” replies Frédéric Le Tallec, deputy director of Enedis in Brittany, without giving a precise date. If this return has taken so long, it is because the damage has been considerable on the Breton electricity network. “The storm was exceptionally intense,” emphasizes Frédéric Le Tallec. To repair the damage, 2,400 Enedis agents from all over France have been mobilized for two weeks in the region, including 1,500 in Finistère alone. “I can tell you that the eyes are tired and the features drawn,” he assures, praising the “tireless” work of the teams.
House-by-house resupply in the most remote hamlets
Their task first consisted of restoring the high and very high voltage lines before tackling the secondary network. “We rebuilt 1,000 kilometers of lines and ordered nearly 8,000 poles,” explains the deputy director. A colossal project that the climatic conditions have made even more complicated. “It rains every day, which makes access very difficult in certain places,” he explains. In this “obstacle course”, Enedis agents are now slowly replenishing the most remote hamlets. “It takes time because sometimes there is the electrical line and four or five poles to change for only one or two houses,” explains Frédéric Le Tallec.
Despite this slow return to normal, now is not the time for controversy in Finistère. “We see that the Enedis teams are doing their best,” says André Marchand. So we’re going to keep our fingers crossed that the electricity returns as quickly as possible. But when all this is behind us, we will have to discuss to better understand the thing next time. »