The positive effects of collaboration within the utilities sector - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
The positive effects of collaboration within the utilities sector Alex Wilkes Stakeholder & Social Obligations Manager Utility Week Consumer Vulnerability Conference - 27 th June 2019 WHAT WE DO Operate the local electricity network,
Utility Week Consumer Vulnerability Conference - 27th June 2019
Maintain equipment Keep the lights
Fix the network Connect customers Operate a smart system
▪ Operate the local electricity network, distributing power to 7.9 million homes & businesses (+20 million users) ▪ Covering the East and West Midlands, South Wales and South West England ▪ 2.1 million customer contacts a year
▪ WPD’s core focus is always on the impact of power cuts on customers in vulnerable situations ▪ Free, confidential Priority Services Register – enabling proactive, tailored assistance during power cuts, e.g. proactive contact and welfare support such as warm meals and drinks ▪ Eligibility ranges from medical dependencies on electricity to temporary circumstances ▪ Currently, 1 in 3 eligible customers are registered (1.8 million), up from 1 in 5 in 2015 ▪ The services this enabled in the last 12 months:
Targeted support Valued service Holistic support Identify the hard-to-reach & provide joined-up services
▪ The factors impacting vulnerability can be varied and complex ▪ Partnerships underpin our strategy: – Utilise expert knowledge and trusted services of others as a gateway to engage – Combine efforts, resources and messages across utilities to make it simpler for customers
▪ First & foremost: we always comply with data protection regulations and only share data where customers have given their explicit informed consent to do so ▪ We collaborate in four key respects…
Deliver value Support via joined- up services
Identify customers Engage the hard-to-reach
Drivers: ▪ Vulnerability can be hard to find ▪ Mapping and data analysis is a key first step ▪ But local knowledge and combined expertise is vital Outputs: ▪ Extensive social indicator maps – 36 vulnerability datasets ▪ User-friendly tool
▪ Engaged 156 existing schemes in WPD’s region ▪ Working with Gas & Water to combine with their key indicators (e.g. off gas grid & water social tariffs) Outputs: ▪ Extensive social indicator maps – 36 vulnerability datasets Drivers: ▪ Supporting the vulnerable means engaging with services they trust ▪ Direct engagement can be challenging (e.g. with the health sector) ▪ Many utilities have networks (e.g. voluntary sector agencies) and links to other services we can build on Outputs: ▪ 29,051 customers identified and signed up direct last year ▪ 87 PSR referral network partners, working across 91 locations ▪ Including Gas & Water ▪ Social indicator data used to target areas
Outputs: ▪ 29,051 customers identified and signed up direct last year Drivers: ▪ Some funding is available to agencies for energy efficiency ▪ But little available to find and support customers with a wide range of interventions ▪ This is an
to enable more holistic approaches Outputs: ▪ 1.1 million PSR customers a year contacted to update their details ▪ 6,661 outbound fire service referrals ▪ 36,832 also registered with Water ▪ Cross-utility
e.g. “Keep Warm MK” with Scotia Gas Outputs: ▪ 1.1 million PSR customers a year contacted to update their details Drivers: ▪ Many projects are carried out by agencies, but few are comprehensively evaluated ▪ WPD requires extensive evidence
deliver, as it is customers’ money we are spending ▪ Utilities working together combines resources and costs and drives value Outputs: ▪ 18 schemes working with 142 partners ▪ Supported 17,764 fuel poor customers to save £6.4m ▪ Core interventions:
– Income maximisation – Tariff switching – Energy efficiency measures Boiler replacements – Behaviour changes – Health, wellbeing & befriending measures – Managed referrals to water social tariffs – CO monitors and FPNES applications
▪ Many of us are working to achieve shared goals - collaboration allows us to go further and be more targeted than if we acted alone ▪ The utilities sector remains confusing for some customers – particularly the vulnerable ▪ Collaboration shares costs, avoids duplicated effort and makes things simpler for customers – Building trust is key ▪ A “one-stop-shop” approach to data sharing is a vital first step ▪ Opportunities stretch way beyond this to co-deliver positive outcomes for customers and offer the most holistic schemes possible ▪ Looking ahead, it is essential we work together to make “leave no customer behind in a smart future” a reality
– Fuel poverty partnerships – Joint promotion or referral partnerships – Where next with your ideas, collaboration and support?
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