A caring team leader is looking after her community by encouraging them to seek extra support when they need it most.
Nicola Chipp, from Sunderland, is the Team Leader for Northern Powergrid’s Priority Services Membership (PSM) and has been with the company for over eight years.
The 40-year-old used to be a carer worker looking after the most vulnerable in society from the elderly to young adults with mental health issues.
She now spends her days continuing to look after the most vulnerable in society via Northern Powergrid’s Priority Services Membership.
The PSM highlights the importance of a little extra help if you are medically dependent on electricity, of pensionable age, a parent of a child under the age of five or if have specific communication needs, poor mobility, a serious illness or mental health care needs.
The mam-of-three knows all about how reliant people can be on their electricity supply, as her youngest son Harrison, aged six, is neurodiverse and finds comfort in technology.
Nicola said “I think having a background in care makes me more suitable for this job, I’ve got an understanding of what is happening on the other side, how our customers need support.
“As a mam to a son with additional needs, I know how hard it can be without power sometimes you can feel utterly hopeless because you never think about your life without it.
“In a role like mine, you’ve got to have the right skills – you’ve got to be able to communicate, you’ve got to be patient, you must be empathetic, because you never know the situation on the other end of the phone.
“My team go above and beyond every single day for our customers and it makes me incredibly proud, I know how much they’ve positively impacted people’s lives.
“Now I wish that so many people didn’t need our help, but if me and my team can support our customers we will.
“And that support looks different for everyone, it could be a generator for one person, a hotel stay for another, or even just a reassuring conversation over the phone.
“With the PSM, I think the more people know about it and are signed up the better, the more we know about people, we know what support we can put in place.”
Mark Cobb, Contact Centre Manager, said “The work our PSM team do is critical to the entire business.
“We have such an important role in looking after our customers during what can be an incredibly difficult time when their power is off, but the work Nicola and her team do is amazing.
“The compassion they have is unwavering, you can see it every time they pick up the phone – they just think they are doing their job, but we know it’s so much more.
“Sometimes we are a little too proud to ask for help when we need it, but our PSM team is there for those people in our community who need it most.
“You can sign up your friends, neighbours, family, any one you know that might need the extra support if their power goes off.
“It’s a free service and you can sign up on our website today.”
Being a Priority Services Member does not mean a customer’s electricity supply will be restored first or protected.
It means that Northern Powergrid will know what extra advice and support a customer may need, before, during or after a power cut so it can seek to provide additional assistance, wherever possible.
It also helps Northern Powergrid inform any wider regional responses led by local resilience partners - such as local authorities and emergency services - in a major incident so support is targeted to those who need it most.
You can find out more information or sign up someone you know to the PSM today on Northern Powergrid’s website.
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