SSEN’s ‘Not Worth The Risk’ campaign highlights the dangers of tampering with power supplies

Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) has today launched its ‘Not Worth The Risk’ campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of tampering with and altering electricity supplies across its central southern England and north of Scotland infrastructure.

Using the hashtag #NOTWORTHTHERISK, the network operator is using social media to help spread the message on the potentially fatal consequences that can result in customers attempting to install, change or misuse their power supply. In the past twelve months, SSEN has recorded over 548 incidents where its network has been deliberately damaged by those seeking to use supplies illegally.

These ‘illegal connections and illegal service alterations’ include domestic and commercial customers moving the location of their meters, creating additional connections to outbuildings or gardens, and even bypassing network equipment to run illegal cannabis plants in domestic properties.

Head of SSEN’s Network Protection team, Shane Scarsbrook said: “Our team is responsible for ensuring the safety, security and integrity of the company’s equipment across its network and we want to use this campaign to protect both our network and our customers. Any alteration or illegal connection made to our network, no matter how small, has the potential to result in serious injury, or even worse.

“Interfering with the electricity network can have far-reaching consequences; even if you are lucky enough to avoid immediate and possibly fatal injury, you have now created a situation that can easily result in fire spreading through a property, endangering the lives of occupants and those in neighbouring properties.”

SSEN is asking anyone who comes across what looks like illegal interference  to its electricity network, or sees something that doesn’t look right, to stay away from the network and immediately call the Network Protection team on 0800 0481618 – this is free-to-call – and SSEN will arrange for an engineer to attend as soon as possible to check the situation and, if necessary, make it safe again. All reports are dealt with, with the strictest confidentiality and the reporters name will not be used anywhere else.

The network operator is also encouraging its customers to use the #NOTWORTHTHERISK hashtag and help spread the word through their social media channels. For the next week, SSEN will feature the #NOTWORTHTHERISK hashtag along with case studies, a video and images of deliberate alterations to their network on their twitter and facebook feeds, and wants to highlight the dangers by asking their followers to retweet and repost the warnings.

Shane continued: “Any customer who attempts to alter the electricity network – no matter how innocent their intention – is taking their life in their hands. The negative outcome of their actions can be life-changing, not just for them, but for their family and friends.

“It’s just not worth the risk and we’re encouraging our customers to look out for, and to report, any suspicious signs of damage or alteration that they might spot on our network. By helping us to highlight the dangers and spread the message, they could be helping to save a life.”

SSEN is also keen to highlight the illegality of unauthorised and ‘DIY’ work on their network, as it constitutes “tampering and damage to plant” as laid out in the Electricity Act (1989).

Service alterations and modifications to domestic and commercial service cables have the potential to impact not only those carrying out the work, but also the occupants of the building as well as neighbouring properties. Where work at the point of connection to the network has been carried out by unauthorised contractors, the quality of materials and workmanship will not meet legal regulations. Substandard work could also impact on other areas of our network, create dangerous connections for our customers or cause frequent power cuts.

For further information, please click – https://vimeo.com/382572616 – to watch our video.

SSEN secures £343,000 for RESOP Project to model solutions for whole energy system

Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) has secured funding of £343,000 from Ofgem’s Network Innovation Allowance (NIA), to deliver a project that will support knowledge sharing between network operators and stakeholders in the energy system, liaising with the Scottish Government to help deliver Scotland’s ambitious decarbonisation targets.

The RESOP (Regional Energy System Optimisation Planning) project will model the impact of local strategies on the energy system to ensure communities’ ambitions can be accommodated and economic growth delivered in a sustainable manner. SSEN will work with local authorities and other stakeholders to identify the impact of their plans on the energy networks and the role of low carbon technologies in managing this impact. The aim is to support delivery of local objectives and to identify the need for network investment.

SSEN supports local communities having a greater say in the development of the energy system that serves them and believes this will be critical in the transition to net zero. RESOP will support this by providing the tools to understand the multiple different local factors that will influence the transition. This is ‘democratisation’ and is one of the four major trends that SSEN believes will shape the energy system over the next decade, alongside decarbonisation, decentralisation and digitalisation.

Delivering the UK and Scottish Governments’ ambitious decarbonisation targets will require substantial electrification of the UK’s transport and heat sectors. SSEN is putting the building blocks in place to support coordination at a local level, to manage this transition in an efficient manner.

RESOP will begin in January 2020 and run for 18 months. The model that is developed over the course of the project will seek to optimise outputs for local stakeholders, who will be trained in use of the model to help inform their decision making.

Stewart Reid, Head of Future Networks for SSEN said: “RESOP will be a key tool in helping SSEN to work with local and regional governments and the Scottish Government to understand the impact of major trends that will shape the energy system over the course of the 2020s and beyond. This learning will be fundamental in providing a resilient network as we transition to a net zero economy.”

RESOP is one of several SSEN projects that are part of the £7.5 million Strategic Partnership, established between SSEN, the Scottish Government, Transport Scotland and SP Energy Networks, that will deliver and improve coordination between electric vehicle charging infrastructure and electricity networks in Scotland. SSEN’s other projects are examining the impact on the electricity network of increasing numbers of tourists driving EVs and identifying and mapping the infrastructure needs for new charging points along the first-of-its-kind Electric A9.

SSEN’s £1.3 million Alton electricity network upgrade enters final phase

Improvement works by Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) to boost the power supply to over 17,000 customers in a Hampshire market town will be entering its second and final phase at the end of January.

The first phase of Alton’s upgrade project was completed in November 2019, with the next stage of the £1.3 million investment having been paused to allow residents and business owners to embrace the festive season without restricting any access to the local area’s well-established Christmas markets.

Over £600,000 will now be invested to complete the project, to build and maintain a resilient electricity supply fit for the future of the busy market town, when works get underway again on 27 January 2020 on Turk Street, High Street and Market Street and continue until completion in April 2020.

SSEN’s Project Manager, Richard Clark is leading the Alton upgrade project and explains further: “As with the initial stage of these works, SSEN took the needs of Alton’s local residents and businesses into account and carefully considered a plan that would minimise any possible disruption to the town.

“This final phase will also work to accommodate local requirements to bring about the successful completion of this significant investment in Alton, to support a robust power supply for those living and working here. I want to thank local residents for their patience as we complete these essential works.”

Network reliability is a key priority for SSEN and the customers it serves. Following a series of engagements with its customers SSEN took the decision to make this considerable investment in Alton to further improve network resilience, and future-proof its infrastructure for customer’s changing demands. This is part of SSEN’s commitment to taking a “you said, we did” approach to investing in its vital infrastructure.

While SSEN does not anticipate any interruptions to the power supply during these works, it is aware that people can feel vulnerable when their electricity goes off, especially during severe weather and customers can join the Priority Services Register 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

By registering for SSEN’s PSR, customers will be proactively contacted to warn them of potential bad weather to help them prepare and to offer extra support where required. SSEN’s teams will also keep in close and regular contact with its PSR customers during network outages to check they are getting the help they need.

To find out more about the PSR, click here, or call 0800 294 3259. For more information on all the support available from SSEN, and for helpful advice on preparing for and dealing with a power cut, please visit ssen.co.uk/ready-together.

SSEN partners with Just Eat to feed customers during power cuts

Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) has teamed up with the UK’s leader in food delivery to enhance its welfare provision to customers during adverse weather and power cuts. Customers in SSEN’s central southern England distribution area will soon be given vouchers to use on the Just Eat app, providing a range of different food options, while SSEN’s engineers work to restore power.

Power cuts have been reduced in the UK by 50% since 2002, and SSEN is managing an investment programme to further support a resilient and smart network that reduces the instances, and duration of faults. However in the rare occurrence that a fault does occur, the network operator is committed to providing industry-leading customer service, while power is being restored. Traditionally customers would be provided with food from a welfare van, but now announcing its partnership with Just Eat, SSEN customers will soon be able to choose from a wide range of hot meals when dealing with a power cut.

Lisa Doogan, SSEN’s Head of Customer Service explains further: “We know that having a power cut causes significant disruption to our customers’ day, and one of those disruptions is the inability to cook food. We think it’s important we make a power cut as comfortable as possible while our engineers work hard to restore the power, so we try to offer welfare provisions when the power cut is prolonged.

“It’s essential that we cater for our customers’ needs and that involves adapting our services to ensure their specific dietary or religious requirements can be met.”

The partnership between SSEN and Just Eat has already been successfully trialled in the network operator’s Thames Valley region, which accommodates nearly 980,000 customers across rural and urban areas. Plans are now in place to roll the provision out across SSEN’s central southern England patch during 2020.

Lisa added: “We have always made a commitment to put our customers and communities at the heart of all we do and this partnership ensures that customers have more choice and flexibility – meaning they can choose the food they want at a time that suits.

“Importantly, working with Just Eat also supports restaurants in the community through increased trade and due to them already being in the local area, getting food to customers is easier and quicker; especially if there are issues on main routes that our welfare vanes would find difficult to navigate.”

Matt Bushby, Marketing Director, Just Eat UK, said: “Our Just Eat gift cards enable people to order from any of the restaurants on our platform in their local areas, from high street favourites such as Subway and KFC to tens of thousands of fantastic independent takeaways, offering a huge range of delicious cuisines. So we’re delighted to team up with Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks to provide vouchers for their customers during adverse weather and power cuts – giving them access to a wide range of food options for breakfast, lunch or dinner when they’re not able to cook at home.”

During the roll-out of the service – and where customers are unable to order through Just Eat – SSEN will send alternative welfare provisions and continue to work with local restaurants, shop owners and community centres to put resilience plans in place that support local communities, particularly during weather events.

While SSEN has well established resilience plans and is fully prepared for whatever extremities this year’s weather may bring, customers are being encouraged to take some simple, practical steps to be ready together with SSEN to strengthen their resilience, including:

• Signing up to SSEN’s free Priority Services Register, or finding out if a friend or family member could benefit from the scheme, that supports customers who may need extra help during a power cut;
• Downloading SSEN’s free Power Track app, which provides live updates on faults and restoration times. Customers can also report power cuts and network damage directly to SSEN via the app;
• Saving the 105 free-to-call national power cut number to their phone contacts.

By registering for SSEN’s PSR, customers will be proactively contacted to warn them of potential bad weather to help them prepare and to offer extra support where required. SSEN’s teams will also keep in close and regular contact with its PSR customers during power cuts to check they are getting the help they need.

Over 700,000 of SSEN’s customers are already signed up for the service, but SSEN is aware that there are still some customers who may not realise they are eligible for the scheme that provides extra support during power cuts.

Customers can qualify for the 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

For more information on the support available from SSEN, and for helpful advice on preparing for and dealing with a power cut, please visit ssen.co.uk/ready-together.

SSEN returns to business as usual for its central southern England network