As the company responsible for distributing electricity to over 8.3 million properties across London, the East and South East of England, we’re continuing to keep the power flowing to your home or business, especially during the current Covid-19 lockdown.
Power supplies remain 99.9% reliable and we are here for you 24/7. Our engineers are out in the community every day providing a critical service, maintaining the electricity network and fixing any power cuts on the rare occasions they happen. We are also continuing Connections and construction projects in line with government guidance.
We continue to have hundreds of customer service advisors equipped and working from home and offices to take calls to help serve all customers. Our first priority is to keep employees, contractors and customers safe, by carrying out all work in line with the latest Covid-19 national guidance.
We are continuing to undertake urgent work requested by our customers, and will only enter customers’ properties for safety issues, to help suppliers install smart meters, or if the customer needs us to continue with the work.
If the work you have planned is not urgent we would urge you to wait until the current lockdown eases to minimise social contact. If you have work already scheduled in and it’s not urgent we have made it easy for you to postpone your appointment, just see our FAQ below.
We have provided more information in our FAQs below. We’re here for you 24/7. There are over 20 ways to get in touch including Twitter @ukpowernetworks, and freephone 105.
Anyone who might feel vulnerable in a power cut can dial 0800 169 9970 to sign up to our Priority Services Register to receive extra support.
We will of course keep you updated. Our priority throughout this winter remains the delivery of reliable and safe electricity to support communities and the wider UK economy. Thank you for your continued patience and understanding.
Throughout the Covid-19 restrictions this winter, our number one priority will always be to protect the safety of our employees and the public.
We have invested in our electricity cables and substations to make power cuts so rare that our networks across London, the East and South East are 99.9% reliable. Power cuts can still sometimes happen for a variety of reasons beyond our control, but when they occur, we will fix them as normal.
Our engineers and support staff are out working as usual because most of our equipment is based in the community it serves. They are defined as key workers, as they are responsible for maintaining the power supplies to over 8.3 million homes and businesses. Please do respect 2m social distancing if you need to speak to our engineers in the street.
As key workers, our engineers will carry on working, with all of the necessary Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and will maintain social distancing. We are working with other network operators and trade associations to ensure we share best practice. We have engaged with our supply chain to make sure we can continue to access the equipment and supplies we need.
If customers are symptomatic, self-isolating or awaiting tests we will not enter their property unless it is a safety emergency.
We have a safe method of work in place to do this, following industry guidelines:
Preparing for the visit:
During the visit
We took the decision to make the wearing of a face covering a requirement for our employees, when entering any customer premises on company business. Our staff will only remove their face covering:
Yes, at any time you can cancel your appointment. Please just contact us through our website, on Twitter @UkPowerNetworks, or ring 105. We are here for you 24/7.
Our engineers are still working 24/7 to keep the power flowing, but recognise that some customers may not want us to visit for non-urgent jobs like installing or moving cables at their property.
It won’t be a problem if you would prefer to postpone a non-urgent job, in the interests of keeping everyone safe during the current surge in coronavirus cases.
Similarly, if you are considering a new project that isn’t really urgent at the moment, we would ask that you defer your electrical request until a later date. Feel free to ring us on 105 so our friendly advisors can help.
Planned work is continuing throughout the restrictions to help us to maintain high levels of reliability to our customers, however we appreciate that with many more people working at home now it’s important for us to minimise disruption. All customers who will be affected are notified in advance so they can make alternative arrangements if necessary and in some cases we can provide extra support on site, such as hot meals.
We urge customers to contact us if they require any assistance. Anyone who might feel vulnerable while temporarily without electricity, is encouraged to contact us for advice and support.
We apologise for any inconvenience caused, particularly while more people are working from home. We appreciate that it is very cold at the moment and when temperatures fall below freezing we postpone planned work. We thank people for their understanding and for maintaining social distancing while our key workers complete this work in your community.
Our engineers wear face coverings when entering any customer premises. All additional Personal Protective Equipment such as coveralls, will only be used if customers are isolating or symptomatic.
Our employees are working from home where they can. We have also Covid - secured all our offices for essential employees who still need to come into work.
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