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The Priority Services Register

The Priority Services Register (PSR) is a free service available across Great Britain. The PSR provides extra support to eligible consumers in a range of situations, including when there's an interruption to your energy supply, like a power cut. Read on to learn more about the benefits of the Priority Services Register, who can sign up, and how to register for this service with your energy supplier.

This page is also available in an easy read format.

On this page we cover:

What is the Priority Services Register?

The Priority Services Register is for consumers who have extra communication, safety, or accessibility requirements even if these are temporary. This includes customers who:

  • Have reached the state pension age

  • Have a disability or a long-term medical condition

  • Are recovering from an injury

  • Are deaf or have hearing loss

  • Are blind or partially sighted

  • Have a mental health condition

  • Are pregnant or have young children

  • Have extra communication needs (e.g. if English isn’t your first language)

  • Rely on medical equipment that needs a power supply

  • Do not have (or have a limited) sense of smell

  • Would struggle to answer the door or get help in an emergency

According to Ofgem, the Priority Services Register also accepts those who need support after a stay in hospital, or those who are grieving. For more information on eligibility, see the Priority Services Register website.

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How does the Priority Services Register work?

The energy Priority Services Register is a free service that offers extra support to eligible energy consumers. These are consumers that may have extra communication, access, or safety needs. Energy customers can sign up to the register with their energy suppliers.

Find out more below on how to sign up to the Priority Services Register.

The Priority Services Register is run separately by different energy suppliers and power networks. This means you will need to re-register when you switch energy supplier. If you have different suppliers for your gas and electricity, you will need to sign up to the PSR through both. Contact your energy supplier(s) for more information about how they operate their Priority Services Register.

Priority Services Register benefits: why sign up to the PSR?

If you’re signed up to the PSR, you should receive advance notice of any planned interruptions to power supply. If there is an unplanned power cut, your home could be prioritised in the reconnection process.

Eligible energy customers who are signed up to the Priority Services Register might get access to the following benefits:

  • Notice of scheduled power cuts and engineering work.

  • Priority support in an emergency.

  • Priority support when calling your network operator.

  • An identification and password scheme, which could include arranging a password or agreed on picture cards if callers need to visit or contact you, to help you to feel confident they are genuine.

  • A nominee scheme, allowing you to nominate someone to receive communications and bills from your supplier (e.g. a family member, carer, or trusted friend).

  • Help with prepayment meter access.

  • Regular meter reading services.

  • Help with reconnecting your gas supply if you need it.

  • For additional support with managing your energy, the Priority Services Register can support requests for large format or braille bills.

The Priority Services Register is run separately by different energy suppliers and power networks. This means you will need to re-register when you switch energy supplier. If you have different suppliers for your gas and electricity, you will need to sign up to the PSR through both. Contact your energy supplier(s) for more information about how they operate their Priority Services Register.

For more information, check out Citizen’s Advice’s Priority Services Register guide.

Power cuts: Priority Services Register and disruptions to power supply

Your energy network can prioritise your reconnection to a power supply if there is a power cut in your area and you’re registered to the PSR. If you’re registered, you will also be able to contact the power networks for priority updates during a power cut.

If you're signed up to the PSR, you should receive advance notice of any planned interruptions to power supply. If there is an unplanned power cut, your home could be prioritised in the reconnection process.

How to sign up to the Priority Services Register

Every energy company has their own Priority Services Register. To register for this service, contact your energy supplier using the telephone number provided on your energy bills or search their website for a sign-up link. 

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Alternatively, we have also put together a list of free and low-cost options to contact energy suppliers.

If you have separate gas and electricity suppliers, you will have to apply to both companies’ Priority Services Register. Because each energy company has their own Priority Services Register, you will need to re-register if you switch supplier.

You can register for PSR through your energy supplier, and they can pass your details to your energy network too add you to their register. For more information, visit the Priority Services Register website.

How do I know if I'm already signed up to the PSR?

If you don’t know if you are already registered to the PSR, please contact your energy supplier(s), electricity network and gas network operator.

Your energy supplier should contact you to confirm that you have been signed up to the PSR once you have been added to the register.

More support with energy management

If you are an energy consumer with specific requirements and are interested in signing up to the PSR, you might also benefit from a smart meter.

A smart meter is installed at no extra cost to the consumer, and automatically sends your meter readings to your energy supplier. With a smart meter, you only pay for the energy you use (instead of estimated bills).

Consumers who are on a prepayment meter might also benefit from a smart meter installation. You can top up a smart meter operating in prepayment mode remotely from your mobile device—anytime, anywhere.

Smart meters come with an in-home display, which shows how much energy you’re using in near real-time. You can also use the in-home display to track your daily, weekly, and monthly expenditure, allowing for easier budgeting.

If you’re eligible for the Priority Services Register, you may be eligible to receive an accessible in-home display.

The accessible in-home display is being offered at no extra cost to selected customers, but they are not yet available with every supplier.

What features does an accessible in-home display have?

An accessible in-home display (AIHD) has all the features of a regular smart meter in-home display (IHD), with the addition of accessibility features which include:

  • Tactile buttons with feedback of button press

  • Text-to-speech function for screen navigation

  • Adjustable volume for the text-to-speech function

  • Coloured LEDs which indicate electricity usage

  • LED push button to replay speech

  • Large typeface

  • TFT screen with a high contrast colour scheme optimised for visual impairment and colour blindness

If you think that you need an accessible in-home display, please discuss it with your energy supplier.

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