Continuation of works during COVID-19
Following the announcement by Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Halloween, today (Thursday 5th November 2020) sees England enter a national lockdown in order to stem the continued spread of COVID-19, following similar national measures already undertaken in Scotland and Wales.
The latest restrictions – which will see pubs, restaurants, gyms and non-essential shops close for four weeks until 2nd December – do not apply to non-essential engineering/construction works.
As per government guidelines, this means that the rollout of smart meters across domestic and commercial sites can continue as normal, in addition to emergency works, as can other construction projects such as energy efficiency and utility connections works.
Throughout the pandemic, SMS has assisted in safeguarding the security and stability of the UK’s energy supply and metering infrastructure through the provision of essential maintenance. As we see out another period of national lockdown, a regular flow of gas and power will be needed to support our most vulnerable citizens, to keep hospitals running, and the economy moving.
In addition to rolling out smart meters and other energy services for our customers, we will continue to maintain these essential supplies, whilst also doing everything we can to protect the health and wellbeing of our customers, our employees, and the wider public.
Health & Safety at SMS
At SMS, health and safety is of paramount importance. Over the past few months, we have been and will continue to operate as a COVID-secure business with the very highest of health and safety measures in place.
This is thanks to the stringent control measures we implemented back in June, including new and enhanced procedures and additional PPE.
Going forward, as a business we will continue with our mission to deliver the future of smart energy in the safest possible way as we all learn to live with COVID-19.
We also do this confident in the knowledge that the services we deliver are making a real difference. Whether it is the installation of the smart meters that are laying the foundation for Britain’s future decarbonisation, our energy efficiency and connections works, or our full emergency field support.
View below a summary infographic of our COVID-19 Business Risk Assessment (Click the image to expand and open as an online PDF).
