Priority Services in Northern Ireland: The Customer Care Register

Northern Ireland runs its own system of support for households who would struggle in a power cut. Instead of the Priority Services Register used across Great Britain, the network operator NIE Networks keeps a Customer Care Register for customers in vulnerable circumstances and a separate Medical Customer Care Register for those who rely on electricity for their health needs. All electricity and gas suppliers in Northern Ireland must also keep their own Customer Care Registers with the details and special needs of customers who are of pensionable age, disabled or chronically sick¹.

The two NIE Networks registers are free to join and bring practical help: priority when you call during a power cut, regular updates while your supply is off, at least three days' notice of planned interruptions, and, on the medical register, prioritised restoration. Around 27,000 properties are on the Medical Customer Care Register, out of 966,000 connected to the network².

What the registers do not do is supply backup power. NIE Networks states that it will not provide a generator for a registered property during severe weather, and registered homes are not exempt from planned emergency power cuts. A household that depends on electricity for medical equipment still needs its own resilience plan, and this page sets out both what the register gives and where it stops.

Eligibility criteria: health devices, older people and at-risk customers

The Customer Care Register is deliberately broad. NIE Networks lists customers who have medical equipment in their homes, such as specialised mattresses, feeding systems or lifting equipment, among those who can register, alongside customers who are of pensionable age, disabled or chronically sick. The Consumer Council for Northern Ireland confirms that all electricity and gas suppliers in the region must keep a Customer Care Register with the details and special needs of these groups¹.

The Medical Customer Care Register sits within this framework for a specific group: customers who rely on electricity for their health needs. NIE Networks encourages customers dependent on life supporting medical equipment to apply, and the Consumer Council describes the equipment this covers, including oxygen concentrators, patient vital signs monitoring systems and home dialysis¹. The regulator's Code of Practice for Consumers in Vulnerable Circumstances records that NIE Networks holds a Medical Care Register for those who rely on electricity for healthcare needs, and that electricity suppliers, gas suppliers and NI Water hold Customer Care Registers for consumers in vulnerable circumstances⁸.

There is also a joint Critical Care Register, operated by NIE Networks and NI Water together, which keeps details of consumers who rely on electrical equipment or a water supply for their day to day care. Adding your details allows both organisations to prioritise your contact details if your supply goes off¹.

The eligibility categories mirror those used by the Priority Services Register in Great Britain, where households can join if they rely on electricity for medical reasons, use a stair lift, hoist or electric bed, have a specific communication need, or would find an unexpected power cut particularly distressing or difficult to cope with⁹. The difference in Northern Ireland is administrative rather than substantive: the same kinds of vulnerability are recognised, but the register is held by NIE Networks under its own name rather than under the GB scheme. Households moving between Northern Ireland and Great Britain need to register separately in each place.

Support offered to registered households when the supply fails

Registration brings concrete, stated benefits during an outage. If you are on the Customer Care Register, your call will be given priority during a power cut, and NIE Networks will then contact you regularly during the cut with up to date information⁴. You will either speak directly to a call advisor or, if all advisors are busy, the company will phone you back¹¹.

On the Medical Customer Care Register, the support is sharper still. NIE Networks recognises your registered phone number when you call, provides up to date information during a power cut or a planned interruption, and can arrange for crews to prioritise getting your power back on². The register also brings accurate estimated restoration times for registered phone numbers².

It is worth comparing this with what network operators in Great Britain must offer customers on the Priority Services Register. Ofgem requires operators to offer extra help for both planned and unplanned power cuts, for example giving customers battery packs so that they can still charge phones or medical equipment¹². Members of the GB register also get a direct number to reach their operator, an agreed password before visits, special help through the British Red Cross, and free 24 hour power cut alerts and text updates for medically dependent customers⁹. The Met Office makes the same point from the household's side: if electricity is crucial for any medical equipment, contact your network operator, as they may be able to put you on their register for assistance during any power outage, a free service¹³.

The practical position for a Northern Ireland household is that the register buys information, priority attention and faster restoration, but not alternative power. That distinction matters most in a long outage, which is where the next sections on preparation and the limits of the register become important.

Scheduled outages: a minimum of three days' warning

Not every power cut is a fault. NIE Networks sometimes needs to turn off supply deliberately for planned work on the network, and registered customers get a guaranteed heads up. The company states that it will contact registered customers at least three days beforehand and inform them of the expected duration of the interruption⁶. The Consumer Council confirms the same standard for the Critical Care Register: in the event of a scheduled interruption by NIE Networks, it will contact you at least three days beforehand¹.

This is not merely a courtesy. Under NIE Networks' guaranteed standards, the company will let customers know at least 3 days before it needs to temporarily interrupt their supply⁵. Which? records the same rule in its summary of Northern Ireland compensation rules: if your supply is turned off for planned reasons, you must get three days' notice¹⁴. NIE Networks' own planned work guidance repeats the commitment, promising a minimum of three days notice before electricity is turned off for planned work¹⁵.

Three days is enough time to make arrangements if you use the notice well. For a household dependent on medical equipment, it is the window to charge battery back-up, arrange to be elsewhere during the interruption, or line up help from neighbours or family. The notice also tells you the expected duration, which is the figure that determines whether a few hours of battery cover is enough or whether the interruption needs a different plan.

The same three day rule applies to everyone, registered or not, but registered customers are contacted directly rather than relying on general notification. If a planned interruption is coming and you have heard nothing, that is worth raising with the company, and the compensation framework covers failures against these standards, as set out on our page on power cut compensation in Northern Ireland.

Signing up and other ways to get in touch

Joining is straightforward and free. You can sign up online or contact NIE Networks via WhatsApp, Facebook Live Chat or the Customer Helpline, or download a registration form and return it by post⁶. For the Medical Customer Care Register specifically, NIE Networks points customers to register online⁷. The helpline number is 03457 643 643, the same number used to report power cuts³.

The registration form has one feature worth knowing about in advance. You can also use it to register for the NI Water Customer Care Register by completing the separate section on the form⁶. Since a power cut can stop a mains water pump just as it stops a heating system, registering with both utilities at once covers the two supplies a vulnerable household most depends on.

You can also provide details of a relative, neighbour or friend as an alternative contact, to be used if NIE Networks is unable to speak with you⁶. This matters for households where the registered person may be in hospital, asleep, or unable to answer the phone during an outage. With an alternative contact in place, the company can still keep someone informed, and that person can act on the information, whether that means checking in, helping with equipment, or simply knowing there is a cut and how long it is expected to last.

For households that rely on electricity for medical equipment, NIE Networks' general power cut advice is direct: join the medical care register if you rely on electricity for medical equipment¹⁶. There is no charge, and no equipment purchase or assessment is required to apply.

Privacy: who has access to your details

Registering means handing a network company personal details about your health and circumstances, so the confidentiality position matters. NIE Networks states that only authorised NIE Networks staff will have access to the information⁶.

The wider context comes from the GB Priority Services Register framework, where Ofgem has set out the minimum customer details energy companies must share when a customer moves between suppliers or network areas: the customer contact name, phone number and email address where available, the address, details of any nominated person, details of any agreed password, and details of the customers' needs¹⁷. That list is a fair indication of what a register holds: identity, contact routes, a nominated person, a password and a description of need.

For the householder, the practical questions are who sees the information and how long it stays. The register exists so that staff answering calls during an outage can see that a property has someone who depends on medical equipment, and act accordingly. The alternative contact you nominate is part of that record. The company's statement that access is limited to authorised staff is the assurance it gives; households who want the detail of retention periods or data sharing with third parties should ask when registering.

The care register: 27,000 homes and faster reconnection

The Medical Customer Care Register is the sharpest tool NIE Networks has for households that depend on electricity for health needs. Currently, 27,000 properties are on the register, out of 966,000 properties connected to the network². That is roughly one property in thirty six, which gives a sense of how targeted the register is: it is not a general mailing list but a specific record of homes where an outage has medical consequences.

The core benefit is priority restoration. If you are on the register and your property loses power, NIE Networks can arrange for crews to prioritise getting your power back on². The company also recognises your phone number when you call, so you do not need to explain your situation from scratch in the middle of an outage, and it provides up to date information during a power cut or a planned interruption to your supply².

The register's coverage of equipment is broad. The Consumer Council lists medical equipment such as oxygen concentrators, patient vital signs monitoring systems and home dialysis among what the electricity Critical Care Register covers¹, and NIE Networks' own guidance encourages customers dependent on life supporting medical equipment to apply¹⁰. The regulator's Code of Practice records NIE Networks as holding a Medical Care Register for those who rely on electricity for healthcare needs⁸.

Priority restoration is a real benefit, but it is a queue position, not a guarantee. In a major storm, crews work through damage in order of hazard and the number of customers affected, and hazardous situations and damage affecting large numbers of customers are given priority¹⁸. A registered property moves up the queue, but if a storm has brought down lines across a wide area, even priority restoration takes time. That is why the register is best treated as one layer of a plan, with the household's own backup arrangements as the other.

Register limits: no backup generators or rota exemption

The limits of the register are stated plainly by NIE Networks itself, and they are worth setting out firmly because they are the part many households assume otherwise.

• No generator will be provided. NIE Networks states: "We will not provide a generator for your property during severe weather events."² Registration brings information and priority, not backup power.
• No exemption from planned emergency power cuts. In a severe electricity shortfall, NIE Networks may need to operate planned emergency power cuts, known as rota cuts. Residential customers, including those on the NIE Networks Medical Customer Care Register, and businesses without backup generation not listed as protected, would not be exempt¹⁹.
• No healthcare provision. The register is an information and priority service. It does not supply care, equipment or medical support during an outage.

The position on rota cuts deserves emphasis. If the electricity system ever needs load shedding, being on the medical register does not keep your home supplied. Households that depend on powered medical equipment need to plan for outages measured in hours, not just minutes, and our page on rota power cuts and planned emergency disconnections explains how those arrangements would work.

For households considering their own backup, NIE Networks' safety advice on generators applies: if you are using a generator, be careful where you site it in case of carbon monoxide poisoning, and make sure there is plenty of air flow¹⁶. Our pages on portable power stations, home UPS systems and generator safety cover the options and the rules in detail.

Getting ready for an outage while registered

Registration works best when the household has done its own preparation, and NIE Networks' advice to registered customers is specific. Make sure your battery back-up is always fully charged¹¹. The company's general power cut advice adds the basics: keep a torch and batteries in the house, know where your fuse box is, be able to open electric gates by hand, and keep an electric vehicle's battery charged¹⁶.

For a household on the medical register, the preparation list extends to the equipment itself. If a stair lift, hoist, electric bed or feeding system depends on the mains, the question to answer before a cut is what runs it in the meantime, and for how long. Our page on help during a power cut if you rely on medical equipment works through the options.

Food safety is a common worry in longer cuts. NIE Networks advises that food should keep for between 4 and 6 hours in the fridge and 15 to 24 hours in the freezer if you can avoid opening it¹⁹. Under its guaranteed standards, the company aims to restore electricity within 24 hours of a power cut⁵, which brackets the food safety window, but a storm can run longer, and our page on how long food lasts in a fridge or freezer during a power cut covers the detail.

Storms are the real test. NIE Networks has an Emergency Response Plan that comes into effect when weather forecasts indicate severe weather is likely, suspending normal activities and directing resources to Local Incident Centres in the affected areas²⁰. During Storm Éowyn in January 2025, the plan was in effect from 23 January until power was restored to all homes and businesses, and the company expanded its contact centre into a second location in Belfast to increase the number of calls it could receive²⁰. In such events, the company mobilises staff and resources when severe weather warnings are issued, keeps helicopters on standby to survey damage in rural areas, and co-ordinates repairs with Roads Service and local councils¹⁸. Lightning storms bring their own pattern: protection devices shut down sections of the network, fuses and trips must be replaced and reset manually, and emergency teams cannot work during the middle of a lightning storm for safety reasons²¹. Preparation, not registration, is what carries a household through those hours.

The impact on a family living independently

The Customer Care Register and the Medical Customer Care Register are forms of dependence management, not independence. They tie a household's outage support to a single network operator, its records and its phone systems, and they work only as well as the company's ability to reach you. The benefits are real: priority calls, regular updates, three days' notice of planned work and prioritised restoration for medical register properties. But every one of those benefits assumes the household can wait for the network to be fixed.

The register also creates a data dependence. Signing up means trusting NIE Networks with details of your health, your circumstances and your nominated contacts, held on the company's terms, with access limited to authorised staff⁶. For some households that trade off is easy; for others it is worth knowing before applying.

The honest position is that the register and household resilience are complements. A registered household with charged battery back-up, a torch, a plan for its medical equipment and an alternative contact is in a far stronger position than one relying on the register alone, because the register cannot supply electricity and does not exempt anyone from planned emergency cuts². The GB Priority Services Register framework points the same way: network operators there must offer extra help such as battery packs for charging phones or medical equipment¹², but the household still holds the kit.

So the sequence for a Northern Ireland household that depends on electricity for health is: register with NIE Networks, register with NI Water on the same form, nominate an alternative contact, keep battery back-up charged, and know the 03457 643 643 number³. Then, if more independence is wanted, look at the backup options covered across this site, from portable power stations to standby generators, and at the wider picture in backup power and energy independence. The register is the floor of support, not the ceiling.