SSEN Distribution has issued dedicated Power Cut Plans to more than 150,000 of its Priority Services customers, the network operator said on 24 February 2026, describing the move as another first for a Distribution Network Operator1. The same announcement confirmed that the first of 20,000 home battery packs have been delivered to customers who rely on powered medical equipment at home, at no cost to those who meet specific criteria and are signed up to Priority Services1.
The battery packs are being given to eligible households across SSEN's central southern England and north of Scotland network areas1. Eligibility is decided when a customer signs up to Priority Services, when their needs and circumstances are assessed, alongside data on the frequency of power cuts in their area; eligible customers do not need to apply and are contacted when it is their turn1. SSEN said 94 per cent of those offered a battery since the scheme launched at the beginning of February have accepted it1.
The packs can power items providing light and heat, charge mobile phones and laptops, and run broadband routers, and may keep specialist in-home medical equipment operating for longer subject to approval from the equipment manufacturers1. The model being issued is the EcoFlow Delta 3, with a 1,024Wh capacity, USB-A, USB-C and three pin sockets, a weight of just over 12 kg and dimensions of 398 x 200 x 284mm1. Capacity has been increased by one third compared with the batteries used in a six-month trial that supplied 28 people who rely on powered medical equipment1.
"More than 150,000 Priority Services customers have now been issued with dedicated Power Cut Plans in another first for a Distribution Network Operator."
The plans give power cut advice tailored to a customer's own condition and needs, compiled with help from health care experts, charities and people living with those conditions1. New Priority Services subscribers receive a plan when they sign up, while existing members are being sent theirs according to the nature and extent of their condition and needs1. SSEN said 1.2 million of its customers are signed up to Priority Services, which offers extra help and advice before, during and after a power cut1.
Why it matters for households
For a household whose power supply is a clinical necessity rather than a convenience, a battery pack changes what an outage means. A 1,024Wh pack can keep communications, lighting and some medical devices running for a period, though SSEN states that whether specialist medical equipment can be connected depends on the manufacturer's approval1. The Power Cut Plans are the other half of the same idea: information matched to a household's circumstances rather than a generic leaflet, issued before an outage rather than during one1.
Both measures sit inside the Priority Services Register, the free register that network operators use to identify customers needing extra support. Households outside SSEN's two network areas are served by different operators, listed in who is my distribution network operator, and support schemes vary between them, as set out in network operator support schemes during power cuts. For homes in the north of Scotland, power cuts in Scotland covers the networks and resilience picture; the detail of SSEN's own offer is in what is an SSEN Power Cut Plan and SSEN: networks, storms and Priority Services.
What happens next
Eligible customers will be contacted when it is their turn to receive a home battery pack, with the roll-out now under way towards 20,000 packs1. Existing Priority Services members are being sent Power Cut Plans according to the nature and extent of their condition and needs1. SSEN said its customer service teams have been trained on all aspects of the batteries1. No completion date for either programme has been reported.