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National Grid Power Up Advice Hub

Close up of hands on a walking stick

The Power Up Advice Hub is an ongoing partnership between National Grid (formerly Western Power Distribution) and CSE to provide free energy advice to customers on the Priority Services Register.

Project duration: January 2015 ongoing

The Priority Services Register (PSR) is designed to assist households which include someone who may be particularly vulnerable in the event of a power cut. This includes people of pension age, families with young children or those with long term health conditions.

Customers on the register are prioritised for reconnection in the event of a power cut. They can even receive support from British Red Cross if their health is at risk due to an interruption to their electricity supply, for example if they use oxygen machines or stairlifts.

Through Power Up, National Grid identifies and contacts at-risk customers who may be vulnerable during a power cut. These customers are offered get free and impartial energy advice from their local advice hub. In the South West this means they are contacted by CSE’s advisors. We then support them with a range of issues to help them stay warm and cut their energy bills. This support includes:

The South West advice hub

CSE’s service covers Bristol, South Gloucestershire, Somerset, Devon, Cornwall and parts of Dorset. We work with a number of organisations across the region including local energy advice agencies. The project has also been implemented in the West Midlands (by Coventry Citizens Advice), East Midlands (by Auriga) and in South Wales (by the Energy Saving Trust) under the National Grid ‘Power Up’ brand.

The project is funded until March 2028 and we offer advice to approximately 3,000 PSR customers a year.

Karn Shah is manager of the project at CSE. “Over the past seven years, we have provided a high quality advice service to over 20,000 National Grid customers, helping them save on average of over £200 on their energy bills.

“We are delighted to have secured funding to continue supporting PSR customers over the next five years. Our additional focus will be on making sure vulnerable customers do not get left behind by the transition to a smart, low-carbon energy system.”

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