A Hampshire market town is to receive a boost to its power supply through an investment by Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN).
Over the coming months, the electricity infrastructure in Alton is to benefit from two phases of improvement works totalling £1.3 million.
The first phase of the project, which sees an investment of over £570,000, will get under way on Tuesday 10 September with an intended completion of November 2019 to ensure that the upgrade programme doesn't affect access to the festive markets in the local area.
Work will commence simultaneously at the rear of Kingdom Mews in Vicarage Hill towards the High Street via Vicarage Hill Footpath, and from the Manor House Car Park towards the High Street COSTA branch via Brewery Alley.
The second phase of works will then be planned with the considerations of the local residents and businesses taken in to account. This is part of SSEN's commitment to taking a "you said, we did" approach to investing in its vital infrastructure.
SSEN's Project Manager for the Alton upgrade Gary West, explains more: "Over 17,000 customers in the Alton area are set to benefit from this considerable investment that will build a robust and resilient power supply for the town; now and for the years ahead."
"At SSEN, we're very aware of planning our works to suit the needs of the nearby homes and businesses, and it's because of this that we've engaged with the local community to ensure we work efficiently and with the minimum of disruption."
"At this stage of the project we don't envisage any planned interruptions to power supplies, but should that situation arise, we will plan them with the cooperation of our customers."
Part of SSEN's commitment to put its customers at the heart of all it does includes the Priority Services Register (PSR), which provides additional free assistance for customers who feel they may become vulnerable should they experience a power cut, planned or otherwise.
Customers 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 five
- Are over the age of 60?
Once signed up, customers on the PSR will receive a phone call in relation to a power cut or planned supply interruption and, where necessary, a welfare check from a member of a specially-trained team?
The free service also offers:
- Dedicated 24 hour priority services phone number
- Priority updates during a power cut
- Information in the format you need, for example Braille, textphone, audio CD or foreign language?
To find out more about the PSR, go to https://www.ssen.co.uk/PriorityServices/ or call 0800 294 3259