SSEN’s Customer and Community Advisors, Rebecca Botto and Mandy Driver at the Salisbury Eye Can event
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) has teamed up with Wiltshire Sight to provide information for visually impaired customers in Wiltshire; helping them to stay safe this winter and arming them with the information needed to deal with any unplanned power cuts.
The Eye Can event - held in Salisbury’s Guildhall - hosted a variety of organisations for around 150 attendees, with four Customer and Community Advisors from SSEN’s Ridgeway and Wessex regions on hand to provide one-to-one discussions on how the distribution operator can assist customers during adverse weather events, which have the potential to disrupt power supplies.
In addition to raising awareness of personal resilience plans and the use of the 105 free-to-call emergency power cut number, SSEN colleagues highlighted the distribution operator’s Priority Services Register (PSR) and how the scheme can assist vulnerable customers in the event of an unplanned power outage.
SSEN’s Customer and Community Advisor, Melanie Grace said:
“SSEN and Wiltshire Sight have worked together for a number of years to ensure visually impaired customers are aware of the steps they can take to help keep them safe during adverse weather events and power cuts, and how we can help them during this time.
“Our Priority Services Register is there to assist anyone who might become vulnerable during a power cut and I’d encourage everyone to find out about the scheme, and to register if they need to.
“Eye Can has enabled us to meet more of our customers and to talk through any concerns or needs they may have, and I’d like to thank Wiltshire Sight for welcoming my colleagues and I to this event.”
SSEN works to provide a robust and reliable network, but there is still the potential for interruption to power supplies during severe weather. Customers are reminded of the free, additional assistance SSEN can provide during power cuts and would encourage anyone who might benefit from its Priority Services Register to find out how this service can help them, or any vulnerable family members.
Customers are eligible for SSEN's free Priority Services Register (PSR) if they:
- Are deaf or hard of hearing
- Have a disability
- Live with children under five
- Are blind or partially sighted
- Have a chronic illness
- Use medical equipment/aids reliant on electricity
- Are over 60
- Temporarily need extra support
To find out more about the PSR, click here or call 0800 294 3259.
Wiltshire Sight is a recipient of an award from SSEN’s Resilient Communities Fund. In 2021, the charity successfully applied for a £17,500 grant to support visually impaired individuals in rebuilding their confidence and practical skills; helping them become more resilient. Wiltshire Sight works from four community hub locations, including its new Salisbury resource centre, and all are fully equipped with a wide range of technology. Their Community Sight Loss Advisor, whose role is partly funded by SSEN, assists people in learning how they can be helped by technology in their day-to-day lives.
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