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Introduction
Who this privacy notice applies to
The type of personal data we collect
How your personal data is used and the lawful basis for using it
How we get your personal data
Who we share your personal data with
How we store your personal data
International data transfers
Your rights
Contacting us
Links to supplemental information

This Privacy Notice relates to Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks Distribution only.
If you would like to view the Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks Transmission Privacy Notice, please visit https://www.ssen-transmission.co.uk/privacy
Introduction
We are Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (“SSEN”), which is the trading name of Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission Plc (“SHET”), Scottish Hydro Electric Power Distribution Plc (“SHEPD”) (of Inveralmond House, 200 Dunkeld Road, Perth, Perthshire PH1 3AQ) and Southern Electric Power Distribution Plc (“SEPD”) (of No.1 Forbury Place, 43 Forbury Road, Reading, United Kingdom, RG1 3JH). SHET and SHEPD are subject to the laws of Scotland. SEPD is subject to the laws of England and Wales. This Privacy Notice is only applicable to SHEPD and SEPD who are collectively referred to as SSEN Distribution.
If you would like to view the Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks Transmission Privacy Notice, please visit https://www.ssen-transmission.co.uk/privacy.
Who this privacy notice applies to
This Privacy Notice covers the processing of individual’s personal data for anyone living in the SHEPD (northern Scotland) and SEPD (central southern England) licence areas and connected to our Distribution Network. You can see the licence area boundaries via PowerTrack here: https://powertrack.ssen.co.uk/powertrack
We use your information as further explained in this Privacy Notice. We’ll be the “data controller” of the information you provide to us. If you live in Scotland, SHEPD will be the data controller of the information you provide to us. If you live in England, SEPD will be the data controller of the information you provide to us. “We”, “we’ll”, “our”, “us” etc. when used in this Privacy Notice will be interpreted as relating to the relevant data controller.
This Privacy Notice covers the following processing activities of SSEN Distribution:
· Customer Operations and Complaints;
· Connections;
· Wayleaves (land rights);
· Innovations;
· Stakeholder Engagement;
For any photography captured during SSEN stakeholder events, please refer to our Media Privacy Notice;
· Priority Services; and
· Smart Meter
The type of personal data we collect
The type of personal data we collect
How your personal data is used and the lawful basis for using it
Your personal data is processed for the following purposes:
How your personal data is used and the lawful basis for using it
Some of the above purposes for processing may overlap and there may be several purposes which justify our use of your personal data.
Less commonly, we may process Special Category Data where it is needed in relation to legal claims or where you have already made the information public e.g. where the personal data is a matter of public record, credit reference agencies or through public social media.
How we get your personal data
As a distribution network provider, SSEN Distribution works closely with third parties, including your electricity supplier, sub-contractors, National Grid, Members of Parliament, local authorities, housing authorities, charities and the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (“Ofgem”).
We collect your personal data when you use our website, communicate with us by phone, letter, email, social media or in person or when you receive our services. We may also receive personal data about you from third parties including your electricity supplier, contractors and Software as a Service providers acting on behalf of SSEN. We may collect the following personal data, and we refer to this as “personal data” throughout this notice:
We may collect the following personal data, and we refer to this as “personal data” throughout this notice:
• Contact data (such as first name, last name, any previous names, username or similar identifier, email address, telephone number(s));
• Address;
• Details of secondary contact (e.g. name and phone number);
• Financial information (such as bank account details (e.g. sort code, account number, name, account type) and payment card details);
• Payment data (such as payment IDs and voucher codes);
• Transaction data (such as details about payments to you and from you and other details of products and services you have purchased from or provided to us)
• Meter Point Administration Number (MPAN);
• Smart Meter consumption data;
• Off supply notifications;
• Application details for new connection requests;
• Report from investigations into illegal activity;
• Call recordings;
• CCTV; and
• Photographs, video footage and voice recordings.
For more information on personal data collected for Priority Services specifically, please click on this link.
Who we share your personal data with
We may share your information with:
• your electricity supplier;
• Ofgem, the Energy Ombudsman and any other regulatory authority we may be subject to for the purposes of demonstrating compliance with applicable law and regulations;
• our sub-contractors for the purposes of carrying out work on our electricity distribution networks;
• councils, local authorities, emergency services and response units in the event of a storm, or any other event affecting the network; and
• external third parties – such as our suppliers and service providers for the purposes of providing services to us including:
> IT support and software as a service providers;
> third parties conducting investigations into suspected electricity theft on our behalf such as Seeka and the police;
> third party survey providers in order to carry out surveys on our behalf;
• to payment processors and card acquirers when processing a card payment to SSEN Distribution; and
• internal third parties such as companies in the SSE Group acting as joint controllers or processors and who are based in the UK and Republic of Ireland. For more information about who we share your data with for processing for Priority Services specifically, please click on the link.
We may also use aggregate information and statistics in order to help us develop our services and may provide such aggregate information to third parties. These statistics will not include information that can be used to identify any individual.
If you fail to provide personal data
If you fail to provide certain information when requested, we may not be able to perform the contract we have entered into with you (such as paying you), or we may be prevented from complying with our legal obligations (such as, to ensure the health and safety of our workers).
How we store your personal data
Your information is securely stored. We will only keep it for as long as necessary in order to achieve our processing purposes. We will then dispose of it by a secure method.
When deciding our retention periods, we take into account any continued need to process the data, and any legal obligations relating to tax, health and safety, regulatory requirement, and potential or actual disputes or investigations relating to those matters.
International data transfers
Your personal data may be transferred to or processed in a country which is outside your resident country (this includes outside of the United Kingdom and European Economic Area (“EEA”)). This may include transfers to other companies within the SSE group, and to third parties.
We take organisational, contractual, and legal measures to ensure that adequate levels of protection have been implemented to safeguard your personal data such as:
• Where the country has been granted an adequacy decision by the European Commission and/or the Information Commissioner in the UK. This means that the destination country provides an adequate level of protection which is equivalent to that applied in the UK, and the EEA;
• Put in place a contract with the third party receiving the personal data, which incorporates the Standard Contractual Clauses (“SCCs”) which has been issued by the European Commission (in relation to transfers of European residents’ personal data) and the UK addendum to the SCCs which has been issued by the ICO (in relation to transfers of UK residents’ personal data), that means the third party who receives the personal data must protect it to the same standards set out in the GDPR;
• Where an appropriate derogation as set out in Article 49 of the GDPR applies; or
• Where the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and/or the UK Extension to the EU-US Data Privacy Framework arrangements apply.
Your rights
You have the following rights regarding your information:
Your rights and what do they mean?
Contacting us
If you would like to contact us in relation to your rights, or if you are unhappy with how we’ve handled your information, you may contact us as follows:
Email: distributiondataprotection@sse.com
Address: Distribution Data Protection Team, 2nd Floor, SSEN, Inveralmond House, 200 Dunkeld Road, Perth PH1 3AQ.
If you would like to contact our Data Protection Officer, you may do so using the following details:
Email: GroupDPO@sse.com
Address: Data Protection Officer, No. 1 Forbury Place, 43 Forbury Road, Reading, RG1 3JH.
Click here to raise a request with us
If you’re not satisfied with our response to any complaint or believe our processing of your information does not comply with data protection law, you can make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) by following this link: https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/data-protection-complaints/ or writing to the below address:
SEPD/England: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.
SHEPD/Scotland: Scottish Information Commissioner, Kinburn Castle, Doubledykes Road, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9DS.
Telephone Number: 0303 123 1113
Website: www.ico.org.uk
If you send us a request for information (e.g. request for environmental information under the Environmental Information Regulations (EIR)) and ask for us to respond via the post, you may be charged a fee to cover the printing and postage. See the schedule of charges for printing documents by clicking the button below.
Schedule of Charges for Printing
Links to supplemental information
Priority Services
Special Categories of Personal Data
In addition to collecting your basic personal data (name, address, telephone number and email address), if you are registered for our Priority Services we process special categories or “sensitive” data about you (e.g. personal data concerning health conditions, equipment requirements which would indicate a health condition where this is necessary:
• to protect your vital interests or the vital interests of another person, if you or they are incapable of providing consent;
• for the performance of a task carried out that has a substantial public interest, for the purpose of providing a priority service to children and adults at risk; and
• for the establishment, exercise, or defence of legal claims
We will only ask for your consent in very specific situations. Where your explicit consent is required (such as sharing your details with specific organisations), we will ask you for it at the relevant time. You may withdraw your consent at any time.
You can object to being on the Priority Services Register and request that we remove your details from the Priority Services Register at any time by contacting us on 0800 294 3259.
We may share your information with:
• welfare organisations, electricity suppliers, gas transporters, water companies, local authorities, and emergency services for those organisations to provide support and assistance to you in special circumstances or emergencies;
• our sub-contractors to provide onsite support during planned supply interruptions, bad weather or emergencies;
• Home Energy Scotland/Yes Energy Solutions with your consent; and
• third party survey providers in order to carry out surveys on our behalf.