SSEN puts Priority Services Register at the 'centre' of its winter drive

Teams from Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) recently visited two of the north of Scotland's larger shopping centres to raise awareness of the free help and support available during a power cut.

SSEN's Priority Services Register (PSR) offers extra support to customers who need it most on the rare occasions there is a power cut, for example those who are over 60, have any under-5s at home or rely on electricity for home medical equipment.

With nearly 149,000 customers across northern Scotland already registered, SSEN is keen to ensure that as many eligible customers as possible are aware of the service and the free help it can provide.

Shopping centres are a magnet for a wide social demographic, making them an ideal location for SSEN's awareness-raising sessions at Dundee's Overgate Centre and Aberdeen's Bon Accord Centre.

As well as promoting the benefits of its PSR, SSEN staff were also sharing information and passing on tips about personal resilience in general, such as:

• Raising awareness of 105, the free 24hr national power cut emergency number
• Showing customers how to create their own "Home Emergency Checklist"
• Highlighting the energy efficiency and fuel poverty advice through SSEN's ongoing partnership with Home Energy Scotland

Chris McKaig, SSEN's Lead Customer Relationship Manager, is pleased with the way these events went:

"Weekends in a shopping centre see people of all ages out and about, whether it's to take advantage of the winter sales or just catching up over a coffee, and our visits to Aberdeen and Dundee have been a great way of spreading the word about the PSR to a wide range of customers.

"Even when the people we've been speaking with aren't personally eligible, it's been really encouraging to hear them mention family members who might be able to get some help if the power goes off."

If you think that you, or a friend or relative may be eligible for the PSR, please call the dedicated SSEN team on 0800 294 3259, by text phone on 0800 316 5457, or visit the dedicated page on SSEN's website.