Useful tips to keep you safe and save you money

Transcription

1 Usefu tips to keep you safe and save you money ELECTRICITY Experts from eectricity, gas and water companies team up to share tips, knowedge, info and advice... Utiity Networks February 2018 If you woud ike to order more bookets, pease contact GAS WATER

2 Working together for you What to do in an emergency! Do you know who to ca to fix a power, water or gas probem in your road? Here s a cue: it s not necessariy the company you pay your bi to To make ife easier a host of utiity companies are working together to give you the information you need. Experts from oca eectricity, gas and water companies have teamed up to share tips, knowedge, info and advice based on what customers said they wanted to know. In this guide you find out who to contact, how to get the support you or your famiy need, and access ots more usefu information to hep keep you safe and warm. It s not just about emergencies either, because we ve incuded how to read your meter, use energy and water more efficienty, and how to switch your energy suppier so it coud even save you money. This guide is supported by a the organisations isted beow. Keep it somewhere safe so that you have everything you need if a probem ever happens at your home or business, and rest assured we be here to hep. Power cuts are not aways possibe to predict, however there are some precautions you can take if you are without power If eectricity is crucia for any medica equipment you have, pease contact us now so we can put you on our Priority Register for assistance during any power outage Make sure you have mutipe torches aong with extra batteries In addition to a mobie phone, keep a pug-in teephone that does not require eectricity remember that with cordess phones you may not be abe to make phone cas once the batteries are dead Keep an eye on any edery or i neighbours, or anyone you know in a potentia vunerabe situation. Keeping safe near eectrica equipment Overhead eectric ines, underground cabes, substations and other eectrica equipment are SAFE in norma conditions. Stay safe near underground cabes and overhead power ines Before you start any work, for exampe, erecting a marquee, instaing fence posts or buiding a conservatory, pease contact us on for advice or to obtain cabe records Overhead power ines are often uninsuated (bare) and can carry high votages. They can ook ike teephone wires, but never assume this is the case. Most overhead power ines are supported by poes Don t ight fires beneath overhead power ines. This coud cause the ine to break and fa down Aways assume that the ines are ive.! What to do in an emergency Saving you money Safety around the home Usefu contact detais Giving you priority Stay safe near substations If you ose any persona property, for exampe, a ba, in a substation, DO NOT go in to get it. Simpy ca us on 105 and we wi recover your property for you safey. 2 ELECTRICITY 3

3 What to do in an emergency! What to do in an emergency! If you sme gas or are worried about gas safety, you can contact the Nationa Gas Emergency Service by caing or via textphone (minicom) on You can get in touch at any time, day or night, 365 days a year. This ca is free. During the ca, the operator wi ask you to foow these steps: Turn off the gas suppy at the meter. Uness the meter is ocated in a cear or basement in which case, do not enter Open doors and windows to ventiate the property Put out naked fames and don t smoke Don t turn on or off any power or ight switches Don t enter the cear or basement if the sme of gas is in there. If it is, evacuate the buiding. Once the operator has this information, a gas engineer wi be sent to the property. They wi require immediate access, but pease keep everyone ese away from the property. Our gas engineers wi make the property safe. If any additiona work is needed on appiances, such as cookers, boiers or fires, this has to be carried out by a Gas Safe Registered engineer. You can find detais of Gas Safe Registered engineers at Sme gas? You can take some simpe steps to reduce the risk of eaks caused by frozen pipes such as insuating water tanks and agging pipes, vaves and fittings and fixing dripping taps. If a pipe bursts... Turn off the stop tap and boier Open a taps to drain the system quicky Bock off and soak up any escaping water with thick towes Ca a quaified pumber If water has eaked near eectrics, switch them off at the mains Once the pipework is repaired, turn off the taps to avoid further fooding. Report a eak Ca your water company is essentia to ife and it s important to water companies that a customers have access to cean water and the safe remova of waste water. We re aso very serious about the environment, so finding and repairing eaks is critica. We take this very seriousy and athough eaks on private suppy pipes are your responsibiity, we wi be happy to offer hep and advice at any time. If you have been advised that the eak on your private suppy pipe is not covered under our free repair poicy, you wi need to arrange the repair yoursef. You may be covered for the repairs under your househod insurance poicy so pease check this first. If you are a tenant, contact your andord who may be responsibe for the repairs. For a ist of approved pumbers in your area who can repair your eak, or for more information about the Safe Scheme pease visit or teephone GAS WATER 5

4 Safety around the home Safety around the home Eectricity improves our daiy ives but ony when used safey. Don t create hazards by overoading sockets, and never ignore warning signs ike burning smes, sounds of arcing (buzzing or cracking), fuses bowing or circuit-breakers tripping. Damaged pugs, sockets and fexibe cabes can cause eectric shocks, burns and fires. For you and your famiy s safety: Check the pug and socket for burn marks, sounds of arcing (buzzing or cracking), fuses bowing, circuit-breakers tripping or if it fees hot Remove pugs from sockets carefuy. Puing out a pug by the cabe puts a strain on it, and coud damage the contact between the pug and the socket. This coud resut in the pug overheating, its wires becoming oose or an eectric shock (if the earth wire is disconnected) Use pugs with the British Standard safety mark they have ive and neutra pins with insuating seeves that aow you to put them in and pu them out of sockets safey Aways repace damaged cabes immediatey. Touching exposed ive wires may give you an eectric shock or you coud even be kied Drying cothes on an eectric heater, with water dripping onto ive parts, is particuary dangerous and coud cause an eectric shock or fire. Many eectrica appiances, such as heaters, have ventiation sots to prevent overheating. If these sots are covered up, the appiance coud overheat and catch fire, or if water drips in, there is a risk of eectric shock Never dri or fix nais in was without knowing what s behind them was and partitions concea eectrica cabes and gas and water pipes Keep your appiances we maintained. Gas appiances shoud be safety checked and serviced at east once every year, uness otherwise specified by the manufacturer. A thorough service on your boier and gas suppy wi incude a range of tests and checks to ensure that the appiance is operating safey. An accredited Gas Safe Engineer can hep you ensure you get a high quaity service and that your appiance is maintained safey. Have a carbon monoxide aarm instaed. Carbon monoxide is not ony a potentiay dangerous gas, it s aso incrediby hard to detect as it is both odouress and coouress. Carbon monoxide aarms detect and aert you to the presence of the poisonous gas, and shoud be fitted in your home. In addition to this, you shoud aways remain vigiant for common symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning. These incude: A headache Feeing sick and dizzy Feeing tired and confused Being sick and having stomach pain Shortness of breath and difficuty breathing. 6 ELECTRICITY GAS 7

5 Safety around the home Saving you money Being in and around water is great fun, but water can be very dangerous. Have fun, but aways keep safe. There are dangers that can ki in and around the home and you shoud aways be vigiant near akes, reservoirs, rivers, canas, ponds and the sea. Here are a few things you shoud remember: Why pay more than you have to? It is worth checking your bis reguary to see what you are paying and whether you can get a better dea to save money and energy. Watch chidren when they are in or around water at a times, without being distracted. Keep very young chidren within arm s reach of an adut Keep rain water butts covered and empty buckets after use. Once bath time is over, immediatey drain the bath Keep doors to bathrooms and aundry rooms cosed Garden padding poos shoud be drained immediatey after use. Store them upside down so they don t coect water Insta fences around home swimming poos. A poo fence shoud surround a sides of the poo and be at east four feet ta with sefcosing and sef-atching gates Know what to do in an emergency. Learning CPR and basic water rescue skis may hep you save a chid s ife. Making sure you pay for what you use Providing your energy suppier with reguar meter readings wi ensure that you ony pay for what you use Look for the E for estimated or A for actua or C for customer. If they have been estimated for a ong time you may find that you are paying to much or too itte If you don t have a smart meter or a water meter at your home you might be abe to make savings by having one fitted. Speak to your energy or water provider. How to read your meter Your meter tes you how much eectricity, water or gas you have used. There are two parts to a meter reading the number on your meter and the measurement that your meter is using. The number Put down a the numbers even if they are Os, ignore any numbers after the point or if they are in red The measurement A eectricity is measured in kwh (kiowatt hours). is measured in cubic metres. One cubic metre is 1,000 itres. Gas is measured in cubic feet or metres then converted to kwh for your bi. This meter reads 3340 kwh This meter reads 00545m 3 This meter reads 01505m 3 8 WATER The seria number for your meter 9

6 Saving you money Saving you money Switching Switching is the process of changing your gas or eectricity company or the dea you have with your company (your tariff). Switching onine gives you access to the best deas and and can aso be easiy done over the phone. You coud save up to 300 for one or two hours work! Top tips for super switching Ask the site to show a deas not just the ones they can hep you switch to. Check the dea how ong does it ast and when can you change to a different dea? Check the gas and eectricity deas separatey and the Dua Fue option how much it woud cost to pay for both gas and eectricity together? Exit fees does it cost money if you eave the tariff eary? Did you know? You can sti switch whist on a prepayment meter and get a better dea If you ike your current energy company, it s sti worth checking that you are on the best tariff. Why not give them a ca? Your energy suppy wi not be disrupted by changing your energy suppier That some deas are ony avaiabe if you use Direct Debit or manage your account onine. If you re not sure about this or want to find out more about how you can pay, give the company a ca and get more information. Worried about debt? It s important that you speak to your energy or water provider to discuss what options are avaiabe to you; these coud incude fexibe payment pans or meter options, but if you are finding it difficut to manage, you may be eigibe for support. Need hep to pay your water bis? Fexibe payment pans Free water meter instaation efficiency devices Socia tariffs to reduce the bis of eigibe customers Support with debt. Citizens Advice Debt Advisory Centre Energy Saving Trust Nationa Energy Advice (NEA) Nationa Debt Line debtadvisorycentre.co.uk

7 Saving you money For energy advice contact the nationa Energy Saving Advice Service (provided by the Energy Saving Trust) on (nationa ca rates appy). Energy and water efficiency advice A famiy of 4 iving in a 3 bedroom semi detached home saved 365 by changing the way they used energy and water in the home, and an additiona 200 on average by checking they are on the best tariff. In your kitchen, saving you on average per year 65 Use a bow when hand washing dishes Use a bow when washing food instead of eaving the tap running In your bathroom, saving 95 per year Turn off the tap when brushing your teeth Shower rather than taking a bath Take shorter showers get a shower timer Use a pug in the basin when washing your face or shaving. Use fu oads in washing machines Ony fi your kette as much as is needed Fuy oad your dish washer and use the Eco setting. Outside your home Use water resourcefuy in the garden In your iving room, saving 205 per year Don t put your appiance on standby, turn them off Change to LED bubs they ast onger and use ess eectricity Set your thermostat between 18 C and 21 C Turn out the ights when not in use Reguary beed your radiators Use curtains and draft excuders. Information from CSE and the Energy Saving Trust. For more tips, see: If you woud ike advice on water saving devices that can be used in your home, contact your water company or visit their website (detais can be found at the back of this eafet). Use a water butt to coect rainwater and use to water pants Don t et your hosepipe run unnecessariy; by fitting a trigger hose gun it wi aow you to turn the water on and off easiy Repair dripping taps both inside and outside your home Line dry your cothes, especiay in the summer

8 Giving you priority Giving you priority Woud you need extra support during a power cut or oss of gas suppy? We can hep. Do you or someone you know, maybe a reative, friend or neighbour need extra support in the event of an outage? By teing us about your additiona needs we can taior the support we provide to you when you need it most. You can join our Priority Services Register by contacting your energy suppier, gas or eectricity network company who wi ensure that your information is kept and shared to provide you extra support when you need it. Our services incude: Dedicated number and speciaist team to support you and your famiy during an outage Nominated contact person to receive updates in the event of a power cut or gas outage Practica on site support during an outage Weather aert text and voice messages when we expect poor weather to hep you prepare. If you woud ike to register your home contact us on: ukpowernetworks.co.uk/priority Providing you with water... We wi take extra care not to interrupt or restrict the suppies to customers who we know have specific heath, famiy and other specia requirements. However sometimes we may have to turn off or restrict water suppies so that we can carry out essentia repairs or because of an emergency. You can hep us to provide the best possibe service by etting us know in advance if an interruption to the water suppy woud cause you particuar probems. How your water company can hep. If you or someone you know needs a heping hand, we ve a range of priority services avaiabe. Here are some of the ways we can hep. Dependant on water for medica purposes It s important that you te us if you need access to water for a medica condition. If there s a burst or a eak that affects your property we wi make every effort to contact you to et you know what s going on. Restricted mobiity If you find it hard to get around, or are in a wheechair, we can bring you botted water or hep you get a standpipe or tanker if something is wrong with the water suppy. Restricted sight or hearing We can send your bi and our communications in aternative formats. Pease et us know if you need us to provide information in another way. Carers If you woud ike someone ese to dea with your bis on your behaf just et us know. Security against bogus caers Set up a password with us, so that our fied operative wi need to te you this if they need to visit your property. 14 ELECTRICITY GAS WATER 15

9 Usefu contact detais Usefu contact detais Eectricity Ca us free on 105 or Text POWER and your postcode to Web: ukpowernetworks.co.uk Facebook: UK Power Networks using your textphone dia Gas Sme Gas? Cadent Ca: Emai: Web: cadentgas.com Facebook: Cadent SGN Ca: Emai: Web: sgn.co.uk Facebook: SGNgas Contact numbers for these organisations: Affinity Ca: Web: affinitywater.co.uk Facebook: Affinity Angian Ca: Web: angianwater.co.uk Facebook: Angian Essex & Suffok Ca: Web: eswater.co.uk Facebook: Essex & Suffok South East Ca: Web: southeastwater.co.uk Facebook: South East UK Northern Ireand 1. Affinity 2. Bournemouth 3. Bristo 4. Cambridge (South Staffs) 5. Choderton and District 6. Dee Vaey 7. Essex & Suffok (Northumbrian) 8. Hartepoo (Angian) 9. Portsmouth 10. South East 11. South Staffs 12. Sutton and East Surrey Scottish Northumbrian 8 Southern Ca: Web: southernwater.co.uk Facebook: Southern Thames Ca: Web: thameswater.co.uk Facebook: Thames 6 United Utiities Yorkshire and sewerage company boundary (named on map) ony company boundary (named on map) Severn Trent 11 Angian 7 4 Dwir Cymru 1 Thames Wessex South West Southern 16 17

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