OREANDA-NEWS. November 14, 2012. Scottish and Southern Energy Power Distribution (SSEPD), the company responsible for distributing electricity to homes and businesses in the north of Scotland and the south of England, is inviting stakeholders and customers to share their views and influence how the business is run over the next decade.

The recently published consultation entitled ‘Our First Consultation - Innovating for a greener more efficient future’ sets out SSEPD’s views on delivering smarter grids and a better service without increasing consumers bills.

Industry regulator, Ofgem has asked electricity distribution network operators including SSEPD to prepare plans for the period 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2023. This process is referred to as the electricity distribution price control.

SSEPD’s first priority is to provide a safe and reliable network to ensure electricity is delivered to homes and businesses 24 hours a day, all year round. Customers have an important role in influencing the decisions on the network over the next decade and feedback will help to inform the next phase of the consultation which will be launched in January 2013.

The consultation document has four main sections:

Listening – How customers views will be incorporated in SSEPD’s future plans

Innovation – Our view on the future of electricity networks

Responsiveness – Meeting our customer’s needs

Costs and Efficiency – Providing good service at the lowest possible cost

SSEPD Director of Distribution Stuart Hogarth said: “We need to respond to future changes in electricity generation and in energy use, allowing customers to benefit from new technologies, such as electric vehicles and solar panels, while keeping costs down.

“This is an exciting time for the industry, the way we use electricity is changing as we adapt to a low carbon economy. Our electricity networks in the south of England and north of Scotland are the most efficiently run in the UK and we have a responsibility to continue to provide a safe and reliable network that will deliver electricity to our customers when they need it. We also want to take account of our customers and stakeholders views in our plans.”

As part of the process to involve customers and stakeholders in the future of the electricity network ‘Our First Consultation’ has now been published on SSEPD’s web site at www.ssepd.co.uk and an online survey is available. All responses should be received no later than 16 November 2012.

Over the coming months SSEPD have planned a series of focus groups, seminars as well as creating ‘customer voice’ groups to highlight the central role customers play in the future plans of the business.