Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) has been keeping its most vulnerable elderly customers connected through the lockdown via friendly phone calls.
The network operator has been contacting over-75s in its region who are on the priority services register (PSR).
Stephen Wood usually leads SSEN’s connections team in Aberdeen and is now heading up the newly-formed team of staff who are checking in on their elderly customers’ welfare during the lockdown, signposting them to community support groups if needed.
He explains: “Connections is still open for business, and one of our priorities is to focus on ‘critical national infrastructure’ sites, such as hospitals, telecoms sites or any other location required to maintain essential public services or support the Covid-19 response.
“And so colleagues who would normally be dealing with ‘non-critical’ business and domestic connections are now helping me on this new calls programme first and foremost to check that our elderly customers are doing ok, but also to let them know the details of local community groups who can possibly offer a bit of extra help and support if they need it.
“A friendly, local voice on the other end of the phone can be so important for some of our elderly customers during the coronavirus pandemic, as they’re maybe missing seeing their friends at the weekly lunch clubs and having a laugh and a catch-up at local coffee mornings.”
The company said feedback from the first week of calls has been positive, with some customers saying how pleased they were to know that SSEN is thinking of them at this time, others are taking the opportunity to have a nice friendly chat, and others have been sharing the ways they’re keeping in touch with friends and family during lockdown.
Wood added: “I’m proud to be part of this new initiative, it’s a great way of offering our more elderly customers a bit of reassurance that we’re still here for them, and I’m looking forward to hopefully having a good few friendly chats along the way too.”
Keeping Us Connected is a new series from Utility Week in which we highlight the achievements of employees across the utilities sector in getting the UK through lockdown. To nominate a member of your team for recognition, please email jameswallin@fav-house.com.