Northern Powergrid, the company that powers everyday life for 8 million people across the North East, Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire, has been keeping in touch with its vulnerable customers during the pandemic.

The electricity distributor emailed more than 250,000 customers on its Priority Services Register to assure them that their teams remain available 24/7, 365 days a year and continue to support the country’s response to COVID-19 by powering homes, hospitals, care homes and supermarkets.

The communication also asked customers, who needed a visit by Northern Powergrid, and are shielded or self-isolating to let the company know in advance so its teams can take appropriate precautions.

Some of ‘Team Powergrid’, who’ve been unable to fulfil their usual roles during the pandemic, have also been taking the time to make calls to vulnerable customers to provide further reassurance.

Northern Powergrid linesman Nick Rowe, who is currently unable to carry out his usual role, said: “I have thoroughly enjoyed experiencing a different side of the business and interacting with some of our vulnerable customers. I found it very rewarding and a great source of customer service skills development whilst working from home.”

Neil Applebee, Director of People and Customer Service, said: “The needs of our customers, especially those who are vulnerable, has been at the forefront of our minds during the pandemic. We’ve been working continuously to maintain, protect and inspect our electricity network, so we can keep powering peoples’ lives. Providing reassurance that our teams are still available and working 24/7 to power local communities and offer extra support, to those who need it the most, is vital.

“At the very start of the pandemic, we did a major assessment of all sections of our network that serve sites which were identified as critical to the nation and region’s response to COVID-19.  This helped us prioritise any necessary work to ensure reliability of supply in these difficult times for our customers. Our focus remains on proactively monitoring and managing our network so we can deliver our key role in society throughout each stage of the pandemic and lockdown easement, keeping our colleagues and customers safe in line with Government guidance.”

Anyone needing support during a power cut can contact the network operator 24/7 on social media (Facebook or Twitter @NorthPowergrid) or by calling 105.  Its website also provides information and advice to support customers if they have or need to report a power cut.

Any customers who may need additional advice or support due to their medical circumstances, or are currently ‘shielding’ in line with government and public health advice, may wish to consider joining the company’s free Priority Services Register by visiting northernpowergrid.com/cares  or calling 0800 169 2296.

To find out more about how Northern Powergrid and its people are continuing to power the region during the pandemic visit northernpowergrid.com/coronavirus or follow the network operator on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.