With the temperatures dropping and the colder, darker nights drawing in, Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks has today (Tuesday) unveiled details of the £21million package of measures it has taken across its South East region to ensure it is prepared for winter and its customers continue to get the best possible service if the bad weather hits.
Across the company’s South East region, which takes in towns and cities such as Basingstoke, Midhurst, Petersfield, Aldershot, the Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and surrounding areas, the company’s investment of £21million not only includes new equipment and maintenance, but also focuses on customer service activities to help local communities be better prepared on the rare occasions there is a power cut.
An investment of over £250,000 has seen engineers working on the Island, focusing on the reconstruction of a large part of the overhead network including the installation of new poles and automated technology in Sandown and Shalfleet.
Chris Slingsby, SSEN’s Head of Customer Operations for the South East Region, says this holistic approach to preparing for the bad weather is essential if storms or bad weather damage the electricity infrastructure and cause the power to go off.
Chris said:
“As a responsible network operator, our primary focus is always to make sure that we are able to deliver a safe and reliable supply of electricity to the 715,000 customers across our South East region. To ensure we are prepared for whatever extremities the winter has in store, we have invested £21m installing the latest technology, maintenance and upgrade work.
“Even after all these investments, as we have seen the world over, extreme weather can still have an impact on electricity supplies due to the damage heavy snow, lightning and wind borne debris can cause. We would like to reassure our customers we are well prepared to respond promptly in such circumstances. In addition, we have been focussing our attentions on making sure our customers are also ready to deal with situations when the power may go off.”
In addition to this investment in SSEN’s South East region, the company has also been ramping up activities in its Customer Contact Centre, which customers can reach 24/7, 365 days of the year by calling 105, the new national electricity emergency number.
The number of calls to SSEN’s Customer Contact Centre traditionally reaches its peak during severe weather and in addition to refresher courses for all of its existing staff, the centre has trained an additional 60 colleagues to ensure that customers continue to get the best level of service possible during busy periods. The company has also introduced new technology which will give customers the most accurate and up-to-date information as quickly as possible when they call SSEN’s Emergency Contact Centre.
Being prepared ahead of bad weather is something that is especially important for customers on SSEN’s Priority Service Register (PSR). The contact centre has its own dedicated team who proactively contact its PSR customers ahead of any significant weather events and also call them with updates if the power is off.
People can qualify for the PSR if they:
• Are dependent on electricity for home medical care
• Have a chronic illness or short term medical condition
• Are disabled
• Have special communication needs
• Have children under the age of 5
• Are over the age of 60
To find out more about the PSR, call 0800 294 3259 or visit https://www.ssen.co.uk/PriorityServices/.
