UK energy supplier Northern Powergrid has apologised to 74 of their customers after homes were accidentally issued Storm Arwen compensation cheques of more than £2.3 trillion.

Tens of thousands of customers are currently being paid compensation after being left without power when “once in a generation” winds swept across the UK in November last year, leaving many without power.

One Twitter shared a photo of the number he received in the post.

He wrote: “Thank you for our compensation payment, Northern Powergrid, for the several days we were without power following Storm Arwen.

“Before I bank the cheque, however, are you 100% certain you can afford this? #trillionpounds”.

The customer had received a cheque for £2,324,252,080,110.

Users commented underneath the tweet, enjoying the humour of the mishap.

“Bank it! Then share it equally between us all,” one Twitter user wrote.

“I think you own Northern Powergrid now,” another joked.

The supplier later confirmed that 74 customers had been given these compensation cheques with the incorrect amount. They thanked those who were “honest” about the error.

The supplier confirmed 74 of their customers had been given compensation cheques with an incorrect payment amount and thanked those who were “honest” about the error.

They added the 74 customers relate to properties with Halifax and Newcastle postcodes, reassuring them that a correct payment will be on its way soon.

A spokeswoman for Northern Powergrid said: “As soon as we identified the clerical error, which was caused by the electricity meter reference number being incorrectly quoted as the payment sum, we ensured all 74 customers’ cheques were stopped so they could not be cashed.

“We have been investigating how this error happened and carrying out checks of previous payments.

“All indications are that this was an isolated incident.

“We thank those customers who were honest and contacted us and we have been making contact directly over the weekend with all 74 customers affected to make them aware, apologise for the error and reassure them that a correct payment will be issued to them on Monday.”