The Priority Services Register: What It Is and What It Provides

The Priority Services Register is a free record of households that would need extra help during a power cut, a gas emergency or any interruption to supply, and of households that need energy information delivered in a way they can use. Energy companies are required to offer a set of services free of charge to customers on their register¹, and heat network suppliers are now required to establish and maintain one too². It is not one national list: every gas, water and electricity supplier, and every electricity distribution network, keeps its own.

What registration buys is not a guaranteed supply. It is advance notice of planned interruptions, updates during unplanned ones, welfare provision such as alternative heating and cooking, accessible formats including large print and Braille, a password scheme so a visiting engineer can be identified, and the right to nominate someone else to deal with bills. Ofgem states that network operators must offer registered customers extra help during both planned and unplanned cuts, for example battery packs so that phones or medical equipment can still be charged³.

Uptake has historically been low. In 2015 around 13% of customers taking both fuels were signed up to suppliers' registers⁴, and Ofgem noted in 2016 that only a quarter of consumers knew the services existed⁵. For a household thinking about backup power, the register is the layer of support that sits underneath any equipment it owns: it does not restore the supply, and it should not be treated as a substitute for a plan.

What the register provides: priority support, advance notice and accessible services

Ofgem's guidance describes the register as a record of consumers who have requested, or been identified and agreed, to be on it because of their personal circumstances or a vulnerable situation². Cadent describes it as prioritising customers with access, communication, health or safety needs¹¹. The services grouped under it fall into three broad families.

The first is communication. Ofgem's illustrative list for heat networks covers accessible formats such as large print or Braille, nominating a person to act on the consumer's behalf, regular meter reading, priority support in emergencies, and identification and password schemes for visits¹². Suppliers offer the same shape of thing: Braille, large print or compact disc communications, interpreters for many languages, and non-telephone contact routes including webchat, email, letter, Relay UK and Facebook Messenger for customers with hearing or speech difficulties¹³. SSEN offers British Sign Language Video Relay free of charge, and a dedicated textphone on 0800 316 5457¹⁴.

The second is advance warning and live information. Registered customers are told about planned interruptions and kept up to date during unplanned ones¹⁵. SSEN's welcome letter includes a free personalised Power Cut Plan tailored to needs, routines and communication preferences¹⁶, and its registered customers receive power cut updates 24 hours a day¹⁷. Electricity North West, which calls its version the Extra Care register¹⁸, adds early weather warnings, a nominated friend or family member scheme, and hot meals or additional services during longer power cuts for the households struggling most¹⁹.

The third is physical welfare. Wales & West Utilities describes electric heating and cooking appliances, or even alternative accommodation, to keep customers safe and warm while off gas²⁰, and Cadent provides regular updates through a gas supply interruption²¹. Citizens Advice states that people on their supplier's register should be given alternative cooking and heating facilities during a gas cut²².

A free service, and what companies promise in return

Every operator and supplier describes the register the same way: free. Ofgem's rules require energy companies to offer a specific set of services free of charge to customers registered for their register¹, and the heat network guidance obliges authorised persons to offer and, if accepted, provide priority services free of charge to their vulnerable consumers². National Grid, SSEN, SGN, Cadent and Electricity North West all state the same²³.

Alongside the price, most network operators publish a promise. Wales & West Utilities commits to never using register data for marketing, never charging for the services, supporting additional needs, and sharing only the data necessary to support the customer²⁴. National Grid puts it directly:

UK Power Networks describes the promise as one made by all participating energy companies in England, Wales and Scotland²⁶. Northern Ireland runs the equivalent under a different name, the Customer Care Register, covered on the Northern Ireland priority services page.

One point of caution: the scheme is voluntary, and not all energy providers offer it, though most major suppliers do²⁷. Free does not mean automatic, and a household that has not asked will not appear.

Suppliers, network operators and why one registration may not be enough

This is the part that most often goes wrong. Each energy supplier and network operator maintains its own register⁷. The Centre for Sustainable Energy states that the register kept by a network operator is not the same as the one kept by an energy supplier²⁸. Registering with the company that sends the bill does not, by itself, tell the engineers who restore the supply.

In practice the companies do pass details between each other. Energy UK states that distribution network operators share register information with suppliers, so registering with the network operator should mean registration with the supplier too¹⁰. Citizens Advice describes the flow the same way: the electricity network passes details to the gas network operator and to energy suppliers, who all add the customer to their registers²⁹. Scope describes registering once and the request going to the supplier and to the regional electricity, gas and water networks³⁰. Electricity North West shares details with trusted partners including water and energy suppliers, with permission, so a customer need register only once¹⁹.

Dual fuel customers, with one company supplying both fuels, need register only once with that supplier; where gas and electricity come from different suppliers, registration with both is needed³¹.

Citizens Advice notes that the gas network operator and energy supplier should contact you to confirm you have been added to their register²⁹; Energy Systems Catapult says the network operator should confirm by email or post³⁴. A confirmation that never arrives is a reason to check. Who runs the wires in a given area is set out on the electricity network operators page.

How to apply: online, by phone, by post or through someone you trust

There are four routes, and no charge on any of them.

1. Online. UK Power Networks asks for a short application form with some details³⁵. National Grid's form asks whether the application is for yourself or for someone else³⁶. Citizens Advice suggests identifying the electricity network first and filling in the form on that network's website²⁹.
2. By phone. SSEN takes registrations on 0800 294 3259, with a textphone on 0800 316 5457¹⁷. Wales & West Utilities takes them on 0800 912 2999³⁷. Electricity North West uses 0800 195 41 41 or 105¹⁹. ScottishPower's line is 0345 270 0700, Monday to Friday 9am until 5pm¹³.
3. By post. SSEN provides a leaflet to complete and return, available in alternative languages, large print and easy read¹⁶.
4. Through someone else. Care givers and family members can register on a customer's behalf²⁴, and SSEN accepts sign-ups made for others, including a family member thought likely to benefit¹⁷.

The application form should ask how you prefer information to be sent; where it does not, Citizens Advice says there should be a box to give extra details about the preferred contact method²⁹. Ofgem's own advice adds that where electricity is crucial for medical equipment, the distribution network operator can be contacted at any time⁹. A fuller walk-through sits on the how to join page, and the criteria in detail on who is eligible.

Who qualifies, and what counts as medical equipment

There is no single statutory list, but the criteria published by networks and suppliers converge closely. National Grid groups them into three: medically dependent, communication needs, and other needs¹⁵.

Medically dependent. Heart or lung machine or ventilator; dialysis or feeding pump or automated medication; sleep apnoea monitor or nebuliser; oxygen concentrator; refrigerated medicine³⁸. Ofgem's advice extends this to anyone depending on electricity to keep medical or mobility equipment running⁹.

Communication needs. Blind; partially sighted; unable to communicate in English; hearing, including deaf; speech impairment³⁸.

Other needs. Pensionable age; physical impairment; mental health issues; a careline system installed; stairlift, hoist or electric bed; temporary impairment such as recovery from hospital; water dependency due to a health condition; medically dependent showering or bathing³⁸.

SGN adds children under five or pregnancy, long-term physical or mental health conditions, disability, and being over 60³⁹. Cadent recognises a lost or reduced sense of smell as a qualifying condition, and states plainly that it wants such customers responded to as a priority⁴⁰. SSEN includes temporary need for extra support¹⁷, and Electricity North West extends its register to unpaid carers supporting someone in a separate household who would struggle in an outage⁴¹. Uswitch lists a mental health condition that makes a bill hard to understand, and an inability to top up a prepayment meter because of injury⁵.

Proof is not normally sought. Scope states that the register is free and that there is no need to prove condition, age or situation⁶; SSEN states that it does not need any proof of eligibility¹⁷. Households that depend on powered equipment will find the practical side covered on help if you rely on medical equipment.

Your data: who sees it, why, and what it is never used for

The register holds sensitive information, and the rules around it are narrow. Ofgem's heat network guidance defines the minimum details as the names of consumers in vulnerable situations, relevant details of their personal circumstances and vulnerable situations, and any other relevant details¹².

Companies state the legal grounds. SSEN processes the data on the basis of legitimate interests, and on substantial public interest: protecting adults and children at risk¹⁶. EDF states that any sharing of data is done in accordance with UK privacy laws and the Data Protection Act, and that details given when joining are never used for marketing⁴². Wales & West Utilities states that data is stored securely and that only data essential to support the customer is shared²⁴. SGN describes the register as completely free and confidential³⁹.

Sharing is bounded by category rather than left open. National Grid guarantees that information will only be shared with other energy and utility companies, and with trusted partners such as charities including the British Red Cross²⁵. UK Power Networks defines energy companies as gas and electricity suppliers, the network companies that transport energy to the home and meter operators, and partners as trusted charities such as the British Red Cross who may assist during incidents³³. ScottishPower shares its register with the distribution network operator to help manage customers in emergency situations⁴³.

What the register does not guarantee

Registration changes the quality of support around an interruption. It does not change the physics of a fault, and both networks and suppliers say so.

• It does not guarantee supply. Energy UK states plainly that being registered does not guarantee a continuous supply of energy¹⁰.
• It does not prevent disconnection. ScottishPower states that being on the register does not mean that you will not be disconnected⁴³.
• Individual households are not reconnected first. SSEN states that its teams work hard to restore power to affected areas but cannot prioritise individual households¹⁶. Northern Ireland's NIE Networks describes its Medical Customer Care Register differently, saying crews can be arranged to prioritise getting power back on for registered properties that lose supply⁴⁴. The two descriptions differ, and the difference is worth knowing before relying on either.
• Free gas safety checks are conditional. ScottishPower's eligibility requires owning and occupying your own home, receiving a means tested benefit, and either living with at least one child under five, or being of pensionable age, disabled or chronically sick and living alone or only with others who are of pensionable age, disabled, chronically sick or under 18, with no check received in the past 12 months¹³. Where a property is rented, the landlord is responsible for arranging the annual gas safety check¹³, a point the Health and Safety Executive also makes⁴⁵.

For a household that depends on powered equipment, the honest reading is that the register is an information and welfare service. Equipment resilience, whether a portable power station or a home UPS, remains the household's own responsibility. The clearest exception is SSEN's Home Battery Pack programme, delivering packs to thousands of its priority services customers who need the most support¹⁷, described further on the SSEN Home Battery Pack scheme page. Ofgem frames loan equipment as an obligation in general terms: network operators must offer extra help, for example battery packs so phones or medical equipment can still be charged³.

105 and the numbers worth keeping

105 is the free emergency number for anyone to call in a power cut⁴⁶, promoted by the Energy Networks Association for use in overhead line emergencies⁴⁷. SSEN states that customers who may be more vulnerable in a power cut can seek advice by calling 105⁴⁸. It reaches the local electricity distribution network, not the supplier. More on how the call is routed is on the 105 number page.

Staying on the register: switching, moving and the two-yearly check

A register entry is a live record, not a permanent one. Scope states that switching supplier means registering again with the new company, and that moving house while staying with the same company keeps the entry but requires details to be updated⁴⁹. Ofgem considered supplier-to-supplier sharing of vulnerable customer data at the point of switching within the scope of its reliable next-day switching project¹, but the practical position for a household today is to re-register after a switch.

There is no annual reapplication. Cadent states that once registered you do not need to apply on an annual basis³¹. Instead, companies check. National Grid contacts its registered customers every two years to make sure details are up to date²³, and the Utility Regulator's code of practice for Northern Ireland requires that a company holding a register entry contacts the customer at least every two years to ensure it is providing the support needed⁸. Electricity North West asks customers who joined before 2022 to update their details even if nothing has changed, and notes that calls or texts may come at any time, day or night, only where necessary for safety or critical updates, with support available 24/7¹⁹.

Leaving is straightforward. UK Power Networks states that if you no longer want to be on the register you simply ask to be removed³³; SSEN accepts removal by email or on 0800 294 3259¹⁷; EDF states that a customer need only get in touch and ask to be taken off⁴². Because each company holds its own record, removal, like registration, may have to be repeated.

Ofgem retains reporting requirements for suppliers and distribution network operators covering the provision of priority services¹, and has monitored suppliers' registers through annual social obligations reporting at 31 December each year⁵⁰. In 2015 smaller suppliers accounted for 2.4% of the electricity register and 1.8% of the gas register¹, and Ofgem's 2016 consultation work noted around 1m households registered for specific services provided by suppliers⁵¹. Uswitch describes the register as designed and overseen by Ofgem⁵.

What it means for energy independence

The register is a dependence, not an escape from one. It records a household with a supplier, a network operator and in some cases a water company and a charity partner, and it works only while those companies are functioning and the household's details are current. What it removes is information asymmetry: a registered household learns about a planned cut before it happens, hears what is going on during an unplanned one, and can ask for heating and cooking when the gas is off.

It does not shorten an outage for one address, does not prevent disconnection and carries no payment. Everything that keeps a fridge cold or a nebuliser running through a cut is the household's own kit. The register is best understood as the welfare and communication layer around that kit, free to join, requiring no proof, and worth keeping current at each company that holds a record.