UK Power Networks Consumer Vulnerability Strategy

Consumer Vulnerability Strategy

1. Introduction At UK Power Networks, the service we provide to our customers is at the heart of how we operate as a business and at the core of our values. This document sets out how we deal with a specific community within our consumer base – vulnerable customers. It outlines our approach to providing a tailor-made service to suit their specific needs and requirements and how we continuously evaluate the success of our service and identify where improvements can be made. 2. Corporate vision UK Power Networks vision is to be an employer of choice, a respected corporate citizen and sustainably cost efficient and to be the best distribution company by April 2019.

3. The outputs we’ve committed to in our 2015-2023 Business Plan Since 2011, we incorporated within our engagement an extensive programme of consultation on all aspects of our 2015 to 2023 business plans to ensure that where possible they meet the expectations of our customers and other stakeholders and deliver value for money over the long term. In our business plan we have committed to the following activities which will form a key part of our vulnerable customer strategy leading up until 2023: o During a power cut providing multiple ways for customers to stay regularly updated on the estimated time for supply restoration and of any changes to the estimated time o Proactively contacting 100% of registered vulnerable customers to offer support if they are without power o Double the number of customers on our priority service register o Provide every customer who is more vulnerable during a power cut an alternative high priority dedicated telephone number o Create a group of UK Power Networks local community energy champions o Develop a series of targeted consumer surgeries designed to raise awareness of energy efficiency and how to manage energy bills o Provide an energy advice referral service for fuel poor customers o Host two subject-specific priority issue focus groups every year 4. Our vulnerable customer vision and values Our vision for supporting customers who are more vulnerable in a power cut is as follows: “To do our utmost to identify vulnerable customers within our area, to engage with them sensitively and to provide the highest possible levels of care and attention during power cuts. We will offer a personalised suite of products and services to support them in their everyday lives”. 5. Definition of vulnerable customers We support Ofgem’s definition that recognises consumer vulnerability as: When a consumer’s personal circumstances and characteristics combine with aspects of the market to create situations where he or she is: • Significantly less able than a typical consumer to protect or represent his or her interests in the energy market; and/or • Significantly more likely than a typical consumer to suffer detriment, or that detriment is likely to be more substantial

UK Power Networks (Operations) Limited. Registered in England and Wales. Registered No. 3870728. Registered Office: Newington House, 237 Southwark Bridge Road, London, SE1 6NP

Page 2

Consumer Vulnerability Strategy

However, through our own stakeholder engagement, we realised there were many more ways to categorise consumer vulnerability.

6. Definition of fuel poverty The Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) measure fuel poverty by the Low Income High Costs definition which considers a household to be in fuel poverty if: • They have required fuel costs that are above average (the national median level) 1 • Were they to spend that amount they would be left with a residual income below the official poverty line We recognise fuel poverty is a complicated issue and that it is driven by a variety of factors such as energy efficiency of 2 the home, energy costs and household income. Whilst there is a correlation between fuel poverty and vulnerability, we recognise that they are separate issues with different challenges for different demographic groups. For instance, research that we have commissioned from the London Sustainability Exchange found that 24% of people surveyed found it difficult to pay their bills. This goes up to 33% when looking at Social Grade DE or 32% for just those with a Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) background. Further data showed that 42% of people surveyed worried about staying warm in their home, which 3 increased to 53% when looking at people from a BAME background.

7. Strategic objectives Our strategy is based around four areas, all underpinned by our plan to become the best electricity distribution company by April 2019 as mentioned previously. These are reviewed on an annual basis alongside focused engagement with stakeholders which influences our decisions on what the strategic objectives should be.

1

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fuel-poverty-statistics#history http://www.energy-uk.org.uk/policy/fuel-poverty.html 3 “Faith and Power” London Sustainability Exchange 2

UK Power Networks (Operations) Limited. Registered in England and Wales. Registered No. 3870728. Registered Office: Newington House, 237 Southwark Bridge Road, London, SE1 6NP

Page 3

Consumer Vulnerability Strategy

8. Data and information strategy for vulnerable customers Data management has a critical role to play in our overall service provision and we following our company guidelines. We seek to ensure that: • •

We adhere to the Data Protection Act at all times and; During conversations with customers we always seek to check and ensure their information and records are up to date

At UK Power Networks, we follow a three step approach to ensure that data management is a thorough and continuous exercise. First, our team will cleanse customer records when they talk to customers on a day to day basis. Secondly, new customers are added to the PSR immediately and thirdly, an annual external data cleanse is carried out by a specialist data management company against external databases such as the national register of deaths. Ensuring the data we hold is as accurate as possible enables us to offer not only a more proactive service but tailored support to our vulnerable customers.

9. Bringing employees with us As part of delivering a quality service, our strategy is focusing on embedding ‘respected corporate citizen’ across the company, at every level, from CEO down to our front line engineers. This means that at every level, our workforce is committed to focusing on customer service and satisfaction. We have also developed a Think Customer framework which supports our employees in putting customer service at the heart of their day to day role. This is reinforced across the business through company-wide incentive schemes. Furthermore, all employees are subject to quarterly performance reviews where there is an equal weighting given to both their performance based outputs and behaviours, and evaluated alongside UK Power Networks values. Our employees deliver for customers identified as vulnerable by ensuring that: o o o o o o

We take the time to understand their personal situation and requirements As a company, we are contactable 24/7 We keep them updated on progress We provide easy to understand information We provide multiple ways to stay regularly updated, depending on what suits their needs and circumstances best We engage proactively with the communities we serve and our stakeholders

10. Partnership strategy Partnerships are critical to our operations because they serve to continuously improve the service we offer to our customers. It also allows us to share expertise, resources, be innovative and most importantly improve the lives of the customers we serve. We choose partnerships that will enhance our service based on four key principles: • • • •

They are a trusted organisation with a good reputation They have a good track record on the specific issue on which we hope to partner with them The overall cost of the partnership and value for money for customers Quality of outcomes delivered

UK Power Networks (Operations) Limited. Registered in England and Wales. Registered No. 3870728. Registered Office: Newington House, 237 Southwark Bridge Road, London, SE1 6NP

Page 4

Consumer Vulnerability Strategy

• •

Their company vision and values align with ours They look after customers in our geographic region

11. Evaluation and KPIs There are a number of ways we measure success; this includes how many vulnerable customers we sign up to the PSR register in a given period and the number and quality of our PSR data. However, our key metric is customer satisfaction. Data over the last four years shows a very strong picture of satisfying our customers as seen in the table below. Furthermore, the data demonstrates that not only do we continue to satisfy our customers but we make year on year improvements. This speaks to the quality of our stakeholder engagement and how we use the feedback to improve our service. We will continue to use this as our key performance indicator to understand how our service should evolve and improve.

UK Power Networks (Operations) Limited. Registered in England and Wales. Registered No. 3870728. Registered Office: Newington House, 237 Southwark Bridge Road, London, SE1 6NP

Page 5