SSEN awards £166,000 to North of Scotland communities as resilience fund extended

Communities across the north of Scotland are benefitting from £166,000 in grant-funding from Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN)to help them prepare for severe winter storms and become more resilient in emergency situations.

The SSEN Resilient Communities Fund is supporting 27 community groups across its network area in the north of Scotland with awards of up to £20,000 for projects that will protect the welfare of those most vulnerable, enhance community facilities or improve communication during an emergency weather event.

Initially a two-year pilot, SSEN has pledged to extend the fund to 2023 using a proportion of the income it receives from the industry regulator Ofgem in relation to its stakeholder engagement performance. Based on 15/16 figures, this would allow funding in the region of £2m to be distributed to community-led groups and charities in the north of Scotland over the seven-year period.

In this latest round, community groups from Aberdeenshire, Angus, Perth and Kinross, Argyll and Bute, Western Isles, Isle of Skye, Orkney and the Highlands have all received support. Funding decisions are made by a panel of representatives from Energy Action Scotland, British Red Cross, the Scottish Government and SSEN.

One of the worst areas affected by Storm Frank last winter was the Aberdeenshire village of Ballater. When the River Dee burst its banks, flooding the village and forcing over 400 residents to flee their homes, the Victoria and Albert Halls complex became the designated resilience hub for those rescued and evacuated by the emergency services. Through this latest round of funding, SSEN is supporting the improvement of Ballater's resilience by awarding £20,000 to the Victoria and Albert Halls to install a backup generator to support and improve the resilience response of the community. The Ballater and Cathie Community Resilience Group is also receiving £2,602 to provide a Private Mobile Radio (PMR) system to significantly improve the communication approach for the area.

Other supported projects include the installation of back-up generators for the local community hall and doctor's surgery in Papa Westray, Orkney; flood barriers for Edzell Flood Group in Angus and an emergency response vehicle for the Salvation Army in Stornoway, Lewis.

In addition to the Resilient Communities Fund, SSEN has been working closely with local communities in the north of Scotland to help them create resilience plans for emergencies, including the potential disruption to power supplies during winter storms.

Lisa Doogan, Director of Customer Relationship Management, SSEN said:

"As an organisation, SSEN is committed to being ready for winter and we want to ensure the communities we serve in the north of Scotland are prepared too. That's why it's great to see so many high-quality applications from right across our network area."

"From Kirkwall to Kintyre, the funding we provide is making a real difference - helping to put local resilience plans into action to ensure that community members, especially the vulnerable, remain safe and warm whatever the weather.

"It gives me great pleasure to announce that this support will extend well into the next decade. Linking the fund to the performance reward we receive from the regulator creates a virtuous circle -the better we engage with our stakeholders, the greater financial support we can give our communities' and that's to the benefit of everyone."

Norman Kerr, Director of Energy Action Scotland, said: "Once again rural and remote communities will feel the benefit from the support provided by SSEN via their Resilience Fund. Helping these communities at times of disruption to the power supply shows that SSEN take their responsibilities to consumers extremely seriously."

"While hoping that communities will not be heavily reliant on this support it's great to know that this is in place there when the harsh Scottish winter bites. I continue to urge all vulnerable householders living in the SSEN area to make use of the Priority Services Register to bring added support in times of power disruption."

SSEN's Resilient Communities Fund will re-open for applications in February 2017. To find out more about the fund, please visit the website: ssen.co.uk/Resiliencefund/

If customers experience a power cut this winter, they should contact SSEN on the recently launched, free-to-dial number, 105. To find out more about SSEN's Priority Services Register, register themselves, family members or friends they should contact the dedicated team on 0800 294 3259 or visit ssen.co.uk/PriorityServices/ for more details.