Press Release Utility Networks Partnership 24 June 2020 United front by utilities to help customers in vulnerable situations People who need extra help during a water, electricity or gas emergency will benefit from a new partnership approach by 12 utility companies. They have created a joint video to promote the Priority Services Register, a service that all utilities provide for people needing extra support for a variety of reasons. The companies involved are all members of the Utility Networks Partnership and are already working closely together to help customers living in vulnerable circumstances. They are Affinity Water, Anglian Water, Northumbrian Water, Essex and Suffolk Water, SES Water, SGN, South East Water, Southern Water, Thames Water, UK Power Networks Cadent Gas and Cambridge Water. Andy Clowes, Head of Customer Insight and Strategy, South East Water said: “Taking care of our customers is at the heart of everything we do. “That’s why across the utility sector we have come together to make the Priority Services Register even easier to use, giving our customers extra support when they need it most. It’s completely free of charge and it’s simple to sign up.” Kerry Potter, UK Power Networks’ consumer vulnerability manager, who chairs the Utility Networks Partnership, said: “It’s fantastic to work as a team to create a new video promoting the Priority Services Register which is making it easier for eligible people to get support. When 12 utility companies share a consistent message, we can help far more people. “Collaboration is key to tackling vulnerability and our utility networks group work together to provide consistent services for vulnerable customers in the regions we serve.” Press Release Utility Networks Partnership Thirty-five charity partners have helped develop the video to increase awareness about the free help available from utilities in the event of a gas, water or electricity outage. The Priority Services Register is available to customers who: • Rely on medical equipment • Have refrigerated medicines • Are living with a serious or chronic illness • Have a disability or have communication needs • Are living with dementia • Are of pensionable age • Have children under five in the home • Need extra support for a short time due to life changing events like bereavement. Customers are being encouraged to register now to make sure that, in the event of an unexpected emergency, they can benefit from free services from their utilities, such as providing tailored support like alternative cooking facilities, hot meals or bottled water. Andy added: “The information can be given in different ways including over the phone. We even have a password scheme to protect customers from scammers or permission can be given to deal with someone else such as a family member or carer. “We are all helping to give our customers a little extra support and peace of mind, keeping those lifelines flowing, whatever the circumstances, whatever the weather.” Find out more or register and watch our video at: southeastwater.co.uk/priority Ends For further information please contact Christine King on 01634 276316 or email [email protected] Notes to editors: 1. UK Power Networks is the country’s biggest electricity distributor, making sure the lights stay on for more than eight million homes and businesses across London, the South East and the East of England. Network operators aren’t the same as energy suppliers; network operators manage local power lines and substations, while energy suppliers sell the electricity that runs through the power lines. UK Power Networks continues to be listed in the Sunday Times’ Top 25 Best Big Companies to Work For, and made industry history by becoming first company to win Utility of the Year two years running (2015 and 2016, also 2012). Press Release Utility Networks Partnership The company invests more than £600 million in its electricity networks every year, offers extra help to vulnerable customers at times of need, and is undertaking trials to ensure that electricity networks support the transition to a low carbon future. It also moves cables and connects new electricity supplies. If you have a power cut ring 105, see www.ukpowernetworks.co.uk or tweet us @UKPowerNetworks 2. SGN manages the network that distributes natural and green gas to 5.9 million homes and businesses across the south of England and Scotland. Its pipes deliver gas safely, reliably and efficiently to every one of its customers. Since its rebrand in 2014, it is no longer known as Scotland Gas Networks, Southern Gas Networks or Scotia Gas Networks. Please refer to it as gas distribution company SGN. Whatever time of day or night, anyone who smells gas should dial the National Gas Emergency Number – 0800 111 999*. Lines are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and calls are free. Find all its press releases and statements on its website – sgn.co.uk. Like the company on Facebook and follow the company on Twitter: @SGNgas *all calls are recorded and may be monitored 3. SES Water supplies water to approximately 707,000 people in East Surrey, and parts of West Sussex, West Kent and South London. Its supply area is 322 square miles (835 sq km) extending from Morden and South Croydon in the north to Gatwick Airport in the south and from Cobham, Leatherhead and Dorking in the west to Edenbridge and Bough Beech in the east. Groundwater supplies provide 85 per cent of our water, with 15 per cent being extracted from one reservoir at Bough Beech near Edenbridge. For further information, including interview requests, please email [email protected] or call 01737 305804. 4. South East Water is a socially and environmentally responsible company which provides top quality drinking water at a value-for-money price to 2.2 million customers across the south east of England. Every day the company supplies, on average, 520 million litres of drinking water to customers across parts of Sussex, Kent, Hampshire, Surrey and Berkshire. Contact us at southeastwater.co.uk or tweet us @sewateruk. 5. Anglian Water supplies drinking water to 4.3 million customers across the East of England and collects and treats used water from over 6 million people. It operates within the largest geographical region of England and Wales. Water is its business. It’s their job to handle it with care and balance the needs of its customers with those of the environment around it. Its ethos is ‘Love Every Drop’, because it’s what it does. Every drop of water is precious, and it believes it’s everyone’s responsibility to look after it. It’s constantly discovering new ways to keep ahead of a changing world, by planning for the future, and exploring new ideas to meet its customers’ individual needs today and tomorrow. 6. Affinity Water is committed to delivering a high-quality water service to all its customers. It provides 900 million litres of water each day to a population of more than 3.6 million people in parts of Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Surrey, the London Boroughs of Harrow and Hillingdon and parts of the London Boroughs of Barnet, Brent, Ealing and Enfield. It also supplies water to the Tendring peninsula in Essex and the Folkestone and Dover areas of Kent. 7. Thames Water is the UK’s biggest water and wastewater services provider. Its key workers provide essential services around the clock to 15 million customers across London, the Thames Valley and surrounding areas. For an average of just over £1 a day for its households, it provides 2.7 billion litres of drinking water and safely removes 4.4 billion litres of wastewater every day. Press Release Utility Networks Partnership It has invested more than £1 billion again in 2019/20, leading to a total of £15 billion in the past 15 years, and it will continue to spend wisely on improving resilience, service and efficiency, as well as provide more support for customers in vulnerable circumstances. It also has additional responsibilities to society and the natural environment. What it does and how it delivers significant public value is why it has ambitious plans to self-generate more of its own power, reduce its carbon emissions and increase biodiversity across its sites. 8. Southern Water is one of the largest water and wastewater companies in the South East of England. It supplies 532 million litres of drinking water every day to more than two million customers and treats and recycles 717 million litres of wastewater for more than four million customers in Kent, Sussex, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Water is essential to every aspect of our lives – for drinking, cooking and cleaning. Southern Water is proud to be at the heart of managing water and wastewater services. However, the South East’s water supply faces big challenges. The population of the region is growing fast, and climate change will bring droughts and more extreme weather. It’s a future of more people needing water and wastewater services, with less water to go around. Southern Water’s vision is to create a resilient water future for customers in the South East. Its purpose is to provide water for life to enhance health and wellbeing, protect and improve the environment and sustain the economy. That’s why it is acting now for the challenges ahead. We are proud to work with charities in the communities we serve. Find out more about Southern Water: www.southernwater.co.uk 9 & 10. Northumbrian Water Limited supplies 2.7 million customers in the North East with both water and sewerage services, trading as Northumbrian Water, and 1.8 million customers in the South East with water services, trading as Essex & Suffolk Water.