Energy company bosses to be summoned to appear before MPs over Christmas power cuts The Energy Networks Association said on Monday that all bar four homes in Kent had now had power restored and engineers were working to fix problems such as flood damage that made it unsafe to reconnect those four properties. Owen Paterson, the environment secretary, said that the network companies had "let their customers down badly" by failing to restore electricity supplies more quickly. "It seems obvious at this stage that they let too many of their staff go away for the Christmas holiday, they didn't have enough people manning the call centres and that wasn't acceptable," he told the BBC. UK Power Networks nearly trebled the compensation for householders who were without power for between 48 and 60 hours over Christmas from £27 to £75. Mr Yeo said he would consult with fellow MPs on the committee over plans for a hearing but hoped to summon the network companies' chief executives. The committee will need to agree to Mr Yeo's plan to call in the power bosses, but is expected to do so at a meeting early in the New Year. Earlier this year bosses of the 'Big Six' energy supply companies were criticised when all but one chief executive failed to appear before the MPs to give evidence over rising prices, instead sending more junior executives. Mr Yeo said a committee hearing was likely to consider the level of compensation on offer to those who were left without power, as well as the contingency planning for power cuts. Mr Yeo said: "Given we are getting regular warnings about the likely frequency of extreme weather events, I think they have got to show they have got a proper plan which allows them to respond much more quickly when people are left without power." He said the power network companies were "analagous to the emergency services" given people were so dependent on a constant supply of electricit . "We have fire and ambulance services over Christmas," he said. There needs to be a system where if there is extreme weather you can call in staff to respond. As the political fallout from the power cuts continues, the Energy Networks Association said that four homes in Kent remained without power and engineers were working to fix problems such as flood damage that made it unsafe to reconnect those four properties. Engineers were also still working to carry out permanent repairs on damaged power lines and to connect dozens of households that are currently reliant on temporary power generators back up to the grid. David Smith, chief executive of Energy Networks Association said: "Network operators are constantly reviewing all aspects of their infrastructure. There is extensive repair work ongoing following the severe damage and in the coming weeks the whole industry, as well as other agencies and authorities, will take a thorough look at the processes and contingencies in place. UK Power Networks said on Sunday it was reviewing its Christmas staffing levels. A spokesman for Southern Electric Power Distribution, which saw 130,000 homes cut off in the south of England, said: "We were able to deploy hundreds of staff throughout Christmas week in the effort to restore electricity supplies to customers as safely and quickly as possible. The combination of high winds, extensive flooding, fallen trees, impassable roads and the limited periods of daylight at this time of year created some of the most difficult conditions experienced for many years. We would like to thank affected customers for their patience, employees for their commitment and other agencies for their co-operation. Like every one of the organisations involved, we will review the events of the past week as part of our ongoing commitment to keeping power supply interruptions to the minimum possible.