Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) has launched its annual Resilient Communities Fund with an enhanced allocation of £1million, which will be made available to central southern England communities aiming to become more resilient in the face of storms, severe weather and prolonged power interruptions.
Following the storms which swept across central southern England earlier this year, bringing disruption to homes and businesses, including here on the Isle of Wight, SSEN has increased the funding pot; raising the total Resilient Communities Fund for 2022 to £1million.
Now in its 8th year, SSEN’s Resilient Communities Fund has been boosted in recognition of the difficulties some communities experienced in the face of the recent adverse weather and aims to assist in helping them build and strengthen their resilience.
With over 750,000 customers living and working in SSEN’s South East region, which covers towns, cities and rural communities, the distribution operator is encouraging local communities to find out more about the fund and how it can them build their resilience.
Applications are invited from communities for grants available from £1,000 up to £20,000. In exceptional cases, involving multi-year and multi-community applications, funding up to a maximum of £50,000 can be considered.
The deadline for applications to the fund is 1st June 2022 and applicants are asked to consider the criteria for funding, which seeks to support projects falling under these 2 categories:
- Resilience for Emergency Events – To enhance community facilities, services and communication specifically to support the local response in the event of a significant emergency such as extended power loss.
- Vulnerability – To protect the welfare of vulnerable community members particularly during significant emergency events such as extended power loss, through enhancing their resilience and improving community participation and effectiveness.
The SSEN Resilient Communities Fund Panel, made up of organisations with expertise in community resilience planning will review applications and determine which projects should receive funding, with the successful applications announced in the autumn.
SSEN Distribution’s Managing Director, Chris Burchell, has said:
“The back-to-back named storms which swept across the UK this winter were the worst experienced by our central southern England teams in over 30 years and resulted in an exceptional level of damage to our electricity network.
“As our skilled engineers on the ground worked round the clock to repair that damage and restore power to our customers, we also witnessed the brilliant work of our communities and how people pulled together to support each other where power supplies had been affected. In recognition of this, SSEN has decided to increase this year’s Resilient Communities fund to £1 million.”
“Since its inception, SSEN’s Resilient Communities fund has helped hundreds of communities and vulnerable community members, and we look forward to being able to supporting even more schemes this year through the increased funds available; building stronger communities for all of our customers living and working across central southern England.”
To find out more about the Resilient Communities Fund, read SSEN’s annual fund reports and apply for funding, visit https://www.ssen.co.uk/RCF/.
instead of virtue signalling, take the money of the bills, just had my latest one from this lot, how come the daily fixed standing charge has more than doubled? robbers.
How does an individual apply for help? The link is of NO USE unless you are part of a scheme. How will 1 million help 750,000 customers? Laughable so called news.
Should SSEN be thinking about removing the overhead power lines to domestic properties ,which to be honest the way they wobble etc in the wind is it only a matter of time before the live end comes down and electrocutes someone .
when we had those storms I was walking down cocelton Lane and this was very evident as I crossed the road from Gurnard pines side
So we are told that electric prices have to rocket to the point people can’t afford to heat their homes because of supply. But there’s still all this money sloshing around for handouts? Doesn’t quite pass the smell test does it?
Is this a breaking/latest news story.
Or an advisement IE ?
Nothing against advertising, as is life,
Just like to know in advance.
Thanks.
Another gimmick from this joke of a company
Your still pist becouse they sacked you,
Lol.
Oh yes, I forgot about that.
Crap company tho.
£ 1 m – 750k people = ?