Priority Services Register: Who Qualifies and How to Join

What is the Priority Services Register?

In England, Scotland and Wales, energy suppliers and the companies that operate local electricity and gas networks keep Priority Services Registers. They use the information to identify people who may need additional communication, practical help or support during a supply emergency. It is not a benefits scheme and there is no charge to join.

Your electricity supplier is the company that bills you. Your electricity network operator maintains the local wires and responds to power cuts. A supplier may arrange accessible bills or meter-reading help, while a network operator is usually responsible for planned-outage notices and support during a power cut.

The register is needs based. You do not have to label yourself as vulnerable, claim a particular benefit or wait for a crisis. Support can be temporary as well as ongoing.

Who can qualify for priority services?

Ofgem says you can ask to join if you have reached State Pension age, are pregnant, have young children or struggle to speak or read English. Disability and long-term health conditions can also qualify, including conditions affecting sight, hearing, smell or mental health, and conditions that require electrically powered medical equipment.

The published examples are not a closed checklist. Explain what makes it difficult to manage the account, use the meter, receive information or stay safe during an interruption. Support can also be appropriate after a job loss, bereavement, injury or hospital stay.

One household can have more than one need. Ask the company to record each relevant need rather than assuming that joining automatically selects every service.

• Older people, pregnant people and households with young children.
• People with a disability, long-term illness or mental health condition.
• Anyone who relies on medical equipment that needs electricity.
• People who need information in another format, language or communication channel.
• Households facing a temporary change that makes energy services harder to manage.

What help can you ask for?

Available help depends on your needs and on whether you are dealing with the supplier or network operator. Ofgem lists priority support in an emergency, advance notice of scheduled power cuts wherever possible, identification or password schemes for callers, nominated contacts, regular meter-reading services and account information in large print or braille.

If a prepayment meter is difficult or unsafe to reach, ask the supplier whether it can be moved. Describe the access problem clearly; do not attempt to alter or move the meter yourself. You can also ask for bills or account information to go to a family member, carer or another person you trust, while making clear what authority that person has.

Ask for a specific outcome, such as large print, telephone contact or messages through a named person. Registration does not write off debt, reduce the tariff or guarantee backup electricity. For affordability problems, ask separately about payment plans, emergency credit and financial support.

How to join and confirm your registration

Contact your electricity supplier or local network operator using the details on a recent bill or the organisation’s official website. You can normally apply online, by phone or in writing. Give your contact details, explain each support need, say how you prefer to communicate and consent to appropriate information sharing if you want the details passed between energy companies.

Citizens Advice says an electricity-network application can be shared with energy suppliers and the gas network when you consent. Ofgem also advises asking to join again after switching supplier. Confirm directly that your supplier and network operator both hold current details.

If you have separate gas and electricity suppliers, check both accounts. If nobody confirms the application, follow up and ask which services have been recorded. Do not send health information or account details through a link in an unexpected message; navigate to the company’s official website or use a verified number from your bill.

• List the practical difficulties and the support that would help.
• State your preferred format, language and contact method.
• Provide a trusted contact only with that person’s agreement.
• Ask which supplier and network registers will receive the information.
• Keep the confirmation and review it after a move or supplier switch.

Make a power-cut plan as well

Priority registration helps the network operator understand who may need extra contact or practical assistance, but it cannot prevent every planned or unplanned power cut. Advance warning is only possible where the network knows work is scheduled, and the help available can depend on the event and local conditions.

If someone relies on powered medical equipment, ask the equipment provider or healthcare team for a safe backup plan. Keep essential phone numbers and any approved backup equipment ready, know how to report a cut through 105 in Great Britain, and do not wait for a network call if there is an immediate medical emergency.

During a cut, follow the network operator’s instructions and keep any nominated contact informed. Registration does not replace power-cut compensation rights. If an eligible interruption meets the relevant standards, the separate compensation rules still apply.

Northern Ireland uses different registers

The Great Britain Priority Services Register process should not be assumed to apply in Northern Ireland. The Utility Regulator says Northern Ireland electricity and gas suppliers maintain customer-care registers and offer free additional services to customers with special requirements. Contact your supplier to ask what its register covers and how to join.

NIE Networks also operates a Medical Customer Care Register for people who use electrically powered medical equipment. Its published strategy describes planned-outage contact, updates during a fault and the option to nominate an alternative contact. This is a network register, separate from a supplier’s account support.

Tell both the supplier and NIE Networks where the household has medical electricity needs or other support requirements, and ask each organisation to confirm what it has recorded. As in Great Britain, registration supports preparation and communication but does not promise that electricity will never be interrupted.

When to update your details

Review the registration when you move home, change supplier, change phone number or no longer need a service. A new home may have a different electricity network operator, and Ofgem says customers who switch supplier should ask to join the new supplier’s register. Do not assume that every detail has transferred automatically.

Update the record when health, mobility, household composition or communication needs change. You can add or remove short-term support without waiting for an annual review.

If agreed support is not provided, contact the responsible supplier or network operator and explain what was recorded. Keep the confirmation and dates. You can use the company’s formal complaints process if the issue is not resolved.