Priority Services and Power Cuts
Extra help for people with special needs when power cuts happen
Why power cuts happen
Our network engineers maintain the cables that take electricity into 3.5 million homes and businesses across central southern England, the north of Scotland and the Scottish Islands.
They work hard to keep the lights on, but occasionally power cuts still happen. Sometimes our cables are damaged by third parties or severe bad weather. Or we may have to switch off supplies to protect the safety of engineers carrying out essential maintenance work.
Regardless of the cause of the power cut, we do everything we can to restore customers’ electricity supplies as quickly as possible. But no matter how quickly we do this, we understand it can be difficult to manage without electricity for any length of time, especially for those with special needs.
If your electricity goes off, you can call our 24-hour emergency numbers
Central southern England: 08000 72 72 82
North of Scotland and Scottish Islands: 0800 300 999
Power cuts and people with special needs
Customers with special needs can register on our Priority Services Register. You should register if you, or someone in your household:
- rely on special home medical equipment run by electricity, such as a home dialysis machine or an artificial ventilator;
- is chronically sick;
- is disabled;
- is elderly; or
- Is a special case that you think we should consider.
For more information and to register, contact our team of specially trained Careline advisers on 0800 622 838 or send an e-mail to careline@sse.com
If you have hearing or speech difficulties and you are a text phone user, you can send messages to our Textline on 0800 622 839.
If you do not speak English, please tell our adviser your preferred language. Our adviser will arrange for someone to call you back using your chosen language.
All calls to our Careline and Textline are free.
How do we help people with special needs?
If we know there is a problem with the electricity supply in your area, we will try to contact you to let you know what is happening.
If you phone us, we will call you back with advice and support. If necessary we can contact WRVS so they can give extra help through home visits and providing hot food and drinks.
When we have to switch off supplies to carry out planned maintenance work, we will let you know at least 5 days in advance so you have time to make other arrangements.
We may not be able to guarantee a constant supply of electricity or get supplies back on any quicker, but we will do all we can to make sure you know what is going on. At least you will able to plan, based on the best available information.
