Utility Week recognise SSE’s customer excellence in the face of the pandemic

SSE scooped two Utility Week gongs last night – including a special award created specifically to mark excellence in the face of the pandemic.

The leading industry magazine recognised SSE’s hard-working colleagues for going above and beyond to deliver for customers despite the challenges facing the country.

SSEN Distribution’s customer care team and Safety, Health and Environmental (SHE) teams were recognised for their efforts in the one-off excellence in the face of the pandemic, Keeping us Connected, award.

Whilst SSEN Transmission’s upgrade of the Fort Augustus-Fort William power line picked-up the Capital Project of the Year Award.

The Keeping Us Connected award won special praise, with Utility Week editor James Wallin saying it showed how the whole business went above and beyond to deliver for customers in the face of adversity.

The entry showed how teams helped SSE colleagues maintain vital services under completely new working conditions without compromising safety or health.

This included working through all the implications of coronavirus for SSE’s operations, stepping up PPE, creating guides for colleagues and providing support to people working from home.

Utility Week, Editor, James Wallin said: “Congratulations to everyone at SSE for a fantastic showing at the Utility Week Awards.

“We designed the Keeping Us Connected Award to capture a snapshot in time of how utilities responded to the pandemic. The customer care team at SSEN and SSE’s safety health and environment team showed how the whole business went above and beyond to deliver for customers in the face of adversity. I was honored to be able to present this award to your fantastic teams.

“It was also great to be able to recognise the huge effort that has gone into the upgrade of the Fort Augustus-Fort William power line at SSEN Transmission. It was a very worthy winner of Capital Project of the Year.”

SSE Director of Safety, Health and Environment, Mark Patterson, said: “These awards are testament to the hard work of our colleagues, especially those in operational roles who’ve been on the frontline keeping the lights on.

“We all know the challenges the coronavirus pandemic has brought. Throughout the last year our critical workers have been on the frontline and behind the scenes working hard, round the clock, to keep power flowing, safely, from generating power at our wind farms and power stations to distributing it around the country, supporting homes and businesses.

“These awards are great recognition and we can, very rightly, be proud of our achievements, especially in such difficult circumstances.”