Last week I met with the team from Scottish Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) to hear about their upgrade plans for the Alton and Bordon area. I went to see the location for the new Bordon primary substation, followed by a visit to Oakhanger Road where the trench work has already begun. I know that some residents who live nearby have expressed concerns to me about the potential impact of the works on local roads, so I will be keeping a watching brief as the work progresses.
It was also a good opportunity to hear how SSEN are making improvements to existing cabling, poles and boxes to try and minimise the number and duration of power outages, of which we have our fair share, in some of our rural areas and to make the network more resilient.
During our conversation, we also chatted about SSEN's Priority Services Register, which exists to ensure customers in vulnerable situations can access additional support during a power cut – more information is available here.
It's free to register for the service and just means that you will be given advance notice of planned power outages, so that you can prepare, and will get extra help in the event of a power cut, for example back up batteries for critical medical devices.
SSEN also recommends completing a Home Emergency Plan which is a repository for all of your (or your loved ones) key contact information and could be invaluable in an emergency.