Utilities Unite to Ward off Winter

13 December 2018 16:53

Northern Ireland’s main utility companies have united to help the public ward off winter by launching a joint winter readiness campaign aimed at assisting householders to get winter ready.

NIE Networks, Phoenix Natural Gas, Northern Ireland Water and Openreach have been working together for the past six years to provide mutual support and aid to each other during periods of severe weather or other unforeseen situations.

With winter on the approach, the utilities have now united to launch a public awareness campaign to ensure householders know how to prepare their homes for winter. As part of the campaign, the companies have also issued a ‘cut out and keep’ list of useful contact details should utility services be disrupted due to severe weather.

Paul Stapleton, Chair of the Joint Utilities Working Group said, “Over the past number of years, the utilities have been working together for mutual aid and assistance in times of severe weather conditions, particularly in the winter months.

“The combined breadth of expertise between our companies enables us to share knowledge and resources, such as equipment and vehicles, to further improve the vital services we deliver to the whole community.

“Already this year we have seen Storm Ali and Storm Callum impacting on homes and services in Northern Ireland. As companies we are always working to improve our response to severe weather and I am delighted that the utilities industry is leading the way in providing mutual support.

“Over the winter period, we will be issuing helpful information, via traditional and social media channels, for homeowners to prepare their homes for winter and promoting our ‘cut out and keep’ emergency contacts list so the public know who to contact in the event of an outage. Preparation really is key for winter weather and we encourage all householders to take the time to get winter ready.”

For more information on preparing for winter follow utilities on Twitter @phoenixni @niwnews @WeAreOpenreach @NIElectricity.

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PHOTO CAPTIONS:

Northern Ireland’s main utility companies have united to help the public ward off winter by launching a joint winter readiness campaign aimed at assisting householders to get winter ready. Pictured at the launch are (L-R), NIE Networks’ Managing Director, Paul Stapleton, Northern Ireland Water Chief Executive Sara Venning, Managing Director, Openreach, Mairead Meyer and Phoenix Natural Gas Chief Executive Officer, Michael McKinstry.