Dozens of emergency battery packs which will ensure power during storms have been handed over to community resilience groups and vulnerable people across Aberdeen.
Aberdeen City Council gave the potentially life-saving equipment to Peterculter Community Resilience Group, Cults, Milltimber and Bieldside Commnuity Resilience Group, Bridge of Don and Danestone Community Resilience Group, and Aberdeen City Health and Social Care Partnership (ACHSCP).
Aberdeen City Council Communities, Housing, and Public Protection Committee vice convener Councillor Del Henrickson said: “We are very pleased to hand over the emergency power packs to these community organisations and ACHSCP.
“They will make a big difference to how communities can help themselves during storms or other incidents and could potentially be life-saving. We want to thank Scottish and Southern Energy’s Community Fund for their contribution, too.”
The resilience groups will use the packs to power equipment needed at rest centres during storms or other emergency incidents. They can use them to charge phones, use heaters, boil kettles and be more safe during power outages.
Neil Chalmers, a member of the Peterculter Resilience Group, said: "The members of our resilience team wish to extend their thanks to SSEN for funding this very useful piece of kit and to Aberdeen City Council for facilitating the donation. We are sure it will be a valuable asset for our community.
“Although we all hope to avoid power outages, knowing that we should be able to maintain operations in such circumstances is reassuring. We are looking forward to working out the best way to deploy it."
ACHSCP is delivering the packs to vulnerable clients who reply on powered medical equipment.
Aberdeen City Health and Social Care Partnership business, resilience and communications lead Martin Allan said: “Storms with power loss are difficult enough for most people but are particularly difficult for vulnerable people.
“The power packs being distributed to vulnerable people will make a huge difference to them staying connected with emergency services and keeping warm.”
Aberdeen City Council applied for funding for the scheme from Scottish and Southern Energy’s Community Fund where councils could apply for funds to help their local areas, in the wake of Storm Arwen in 2021/2022.
Gary Bartlett, Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks Distribution’s head of region, said: “It’s great to see the financial support we’ve provided to further improve the resilience of people and communities in the north-east coming to fruition in this way.
“The provision of safe and reliable battery packs will mean that more vulnerable people will now be able to stay in their familiar surroundings in the rare event their power goes off.
“Our funding for the purchase of dozens of battery packs is just one of the many ways we’re delivering greater resilience for the customers and communities we serve. The £100million we’re investing every year to make supplies for people in the north of Scotland ever more resilient means the network has become stronger and even more reliable. The provision of these battery packs will give some of our most vulnerable customers further peace of mind.”
Pic caption: Councillor Del Henrickson, Martin Allan of ACHSCP, Natalie Henderson of SSEN, Neil Chalmers of Peterculter Community Resilience Group, Gus Glass and Colin Morsley of Cults, Bieldside and Milltimber Resilience Group, and Pastor Iain Duthie of Bridge of Don and Danestone Community Resilience Group