Utility Week

Customers UTILITY WEEK | 6TH - 12TH JULY 2018 | 21 Iresa Energy is a step closer to having its supplier licence revoked as it has not managed to resolve all its customer service failings since Ofgem imposed a temporary ban in March. The regulator on 27 June confirmed the provisional order, which prevents Iresa taking on new customers, requesting one-off payments and increasing direct debits, for ENERGY Poor service extends Ofgem ban on Iresa taking on new customers the "foreseeable future". The news follows the supplier being named the worst energy com- pany for customer service amid record numbers of complaints. Citizens Advice ranked Iresa bottom of its latest energy star- rating table, with a score of 0.35 stars out of five for its customer service between January and March 2018. Ofgem could revoke Iresa's licence if the supplier does not meet the requirements set out in the confirmed provisional order. Iresa was set targets by Ofgem to improve its customer service, which included extending call centre hours, improving call waiting times and responding to customer emails quicker. If these targets had been met, the tempo- rary ban may have been lied. Ofgem said Iresa has "signifi- This week Amendment could delay energy price cap Upper house backs a Labour amendment that introduces a permanent relative cap on prices The introduction of the energy price cap could be delayed aer a knife-edge reverse for the gov- ernment in the House of Lords, a minister has warned. The upper house of parlia- ment backed, by 193 votes to 192, a Labour amendment to the government's capping legisla- tion that introduces a permanent relative cap on prices. Moving the amendment, Labour peer Baroness Kennedy said there is growing support for a relative cap, which is designed to end the "tease and squeeze" that critics accuse suppliers of using to lure in customers with cut-price tariffs. She said the government's reliance on switching as the long-term solution for reducing energy bills would lead to higher administration costs for suppliers and pro- vide them with few incentives to reward loyal customers. But junior energy minister Lord Henley warned the amendment could disrupt the swi passage of the legislation, which is designed to introduce a temporary cap on suppliers' standard variable tariffs (SVTs) by this winter. To safeguard vulnerable customers who might be exposed to expensive SVTs when the temporary cap ends, the minister said Ofgem had pledged to three steps: it would assess whether ongoing protection will be needed for vulnerable consumers; it would consider implementing a cap for selected consumers; and before the price cap ended, it would produce a report outlining what additional protection might be needed, who might require it and the form it should take. The amendment will now be considered by the House of Commons before it becomes legislation. DB WATER Former Ofgem chief exec joins Thames Thames Water has appointed Alistair Buchanan, the former chief executive of Ofgem, as an independent non-executive director to help strengthen the company's governance. As part of a review of its cor- porate structure, Thames Water has pledged to have a majority of independent non-executive directors on its board. The review's aim is to boost transparency for customers and stakeholders and was launched aer the arrival of Ian March- ant, the former chief executive of SSE, as chairman earlier this year. Marchant told Utility Week Buchanan's appointment will be followed by more in the coming months as the company looks to introduce a range of "neces- sary skills" to move the business forward. He said: "The move makes us closer on the spectrum to a public company and we are strengthening the non-executive directors, who will make up the majority in the future." Thames Water said it has "simplified and clarified" the role of the board, including both its relationship with sharehold- ers and the business decisions that are reserved to the board. Shareholders will provide additional oversight of key strate- gic frameworks such as the five- year business plan and policies on dividends and remuneration. Buchanan stepped down as Ofgem chief executive in June 2013 aer ten years. He joined KPMG as a partner and UK chairman of power and utilities, having returned to the firm where he trained as a chartered accountant. GAS NGN group calls on customers to engage The newly appointed chair of the consumer engagement group of Northern Gas Networks (NGN) is calling for customers to help shape the future of the business. Jenny Saunders, the former chief executive of National Energy Action, will chair the new independent Customer Engagement Group (CEG), with members including customers and stakeholders from across the north of England. The group will be responsible for holding NGN's stakeholder engagement to account and ensuring its plans for the next regulatory period, which begins in 2021, meet the needs of cus- tomers throughout the region. NGN is assisting in the crea- tion of the group and is looking to hear from customers and stakeholders that may be inter- ested in participating. "The CEG will be a powerful guiding force that shapes North- ern Gas Networks' business plan from 2021," said Saunders. "As a member, you will have the opportunity to help shape the future of a network that provides heat and power to over 2.7 million customers." Seeing red: Lords voted for amendment cantly reduced" its call waiting times but has "not made enough progress" in reducing the back- log of customers' emails. The regulator noted Iresa is also starting to "show signs of improvement" in how it handles complaints and manages vulner- able customers. But it said "this is not currently good enough" and it has not been sustained for a "reasonable period of time".

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