SSEN highlights free support services to boost community resilience this winter

The distribution operator’s Customer and Community Advisors (CCAs) - who have recently supported events in Hampshire and Wiltshire - are helping communities to prepare for winter and the adverse weather events that colder months can bring and which have the potential to cause power cuts.

The team have been attending community resilience events to enable them to speak directly to customers who could benefit from the free assistance provided by SSEN’s Priority Services Register and YES Energy Solutions.

Throughout late autumn, SSEN’s Customer and Community Advisors have been able to give guidance on staying safe during power cuts and severe weather events, and energy saving advice to hundreds of customers across both rural and urban areas through events including:

• The Eye Can Exhibitions - organised by Sight Support West of England and Wiltshire Sight
• The Big Band Buffet in Stockbridge’s Test Valley School - organised by Test Valley Council
• North Newnton Parish Council Meeting
• Wroughton Community Meeting
• Nether Wallop’s ‘Not on your own’ Club
• Crown House Coffee Morning in Melksham
• Stroke Club in Penton Mewsey
• Horningsham Parish Council Meeting

SSEN’s Customer Vulnerability and Communities Lead, Emma Merritt said:

“Across our central southern England distribution area, we have over 1.2 million customers - in both rural and urban settings, and with a wide variety of different cultures and languages – which records suggest are eligible for free additional support.

“We want to speak to as many customers as possible about the services we can provide and by going along to local community meetings, we can speak face-to-face with residents and help them sign up for free additional assistance or simply provide them with the guidance they need to help them through the colder months.”

Emma continued:

“SSEN already assists over 715,000 customers who have signed up to our popular Priority Services Register, but we know from our research there are still people who may need additional assistance due to vulnerability or circumstances of fuel poverty, and we want to encourage them to speak to us or go to our website to find out how we can help them.

“In addition to our Priority Services Register and the free assistance it can provide during power cuts, we can also refer customers to YES Energy Solutions for ways to save energy and money. It costs nothing to sign up for either of these services, but the benefits of doing so can help bring our customers some peace of mind this winter.”

Karen Cole from Sight Support West of England added:

“Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks has offered vital information at our exhibitions about the additional support they have available for blind and partially-sighted people.”

Through the network operator's Priority Services Register (PSR), customers who could find themselves in a vulnerable situation during planned or unplanned power outages are offered free extra support, which varies according to the individual customer's needs.