Vulnerable Customers: Priority Services Register

We maintain a register of customers who are considered to be vulnerable. This register enables us to provide additional services to those most at need, as well as prioritising assistance during power cuts or engineering works.

Additional services for those on the register include special billing and meter reading services, text telephone facilities, password schemes and free gas safety checks.

During 2004, we introduced the Priority Services Register newsletter Home Comforts. The bi-annual mailing informs our PSR customers of additional services, case studies and energy efficiency measures on offer.

The importance of the Priority Services Register was seen following a failure at the primary substation at Witham, Essex in October 2004, which affected supplies to 16,000 customers. Using information held on the register, we visited vulnerable customers at their homes to give them advice and extra assistance.

We are required by Ofgem to maintain and grow the register with a 2005 target of 194,000.