SSEN's Mohammed Kamraiz and Charlee Mills with a happy customer at the London Mela
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) has been at this year's London Mela to distribute advice on how it helps care for its customers throughout their lifetime.
Customer and Community Advisors from SSEN's Thames Valley attended the event at the weekend to talk to customers across the generations about the free services they could receive to help them with issues of fuel poverty, and vulnerability in the face of a potential power cuts or a severe weather event.
The Mela is now in its 16th Year and is London's biggest celebration of Asian culture and creativity; through talks at the specially set up Mela stand and by handing out its multi-language leaflets, SSEN was able to raise awareness of help with fuel poverty and the benefits of signing up for its Priority Services Register (PSR). The free, tailored service is available to all who meet its criteria - from a new-born baby, to someone recovering from illness, to an elderly relative being cared for at home - and SSEN is encouraging its Thames Valley customers to find out more about PSR and how it could assist them.
Customer Relationship Manager, Bryan Puszkar and his team were speaking to customers at the two-day event, explaining how the service works:
"The summer months and events like the Mela aren't usually a time when people's thoughts turn to bad weather and the possibility of power cuts, but by raising awareness of the PSR and giving customers the chance to sign up now, means they have peace of mind, whatever the weather brings in the months ahead.
"We've also been handing out our multi-language leaflets, which are available in 14 different languages, as we know that these are often taken to family and friends whose first language may not be English, so the information can be shared and discussed more easily and allows people time to see if the PSR is something that would benefit them."
Customers can join SSEN's Priority Services Register (PSR) if they:
- Are dependent on electricity for home medical care, for example a kidney dialysis machine or ventilator
- Have a chronic illness or short term medical condition; for example you are recovering from a major operation
- Are disabled
- Have special communication needs; for example because you are blind, partially sighted, deaf or hard of hearing
- Have children under five
- Are over 60 years old
Bryan added: "At SSEN we want to make sure our customers know that no matter their age or circumstance, we're here to help. By taking part in local events like the Mela, we're able to reach out to a wider audience and reduce some of the pockets of vulnerability that we know still exist across the region."
"I'd encourage anyone, who hasn't done so already, to speak to our colleagues when they see them at local events or go to our website to find out how the PSR scheme could benefit them."
SSEN's multi-language PSR leaflets can also be accessed and downloaded through its website. To find out more, please go to the Priority Services Register page on our website - https://www.ssen.co.uk/PriorityServices/.