Utility Week

Customers UTILITY WEEK | 20TH - 26TH JULY 2018 | 27 A quarter of utility companies in the UK have integrated artificial intelligence (AI) into their sys- tems, while a further 37 per cent have plans to follow suit in the next five years. New research commissioned by predictive field service management company Oneserve suggests the two main drivers for adopting AI were to save money and retain customers. PAN-UTILITY A quarter of utility companies are using artificial intelligence The poll surveyed senior decision makers in the industry on their existing operational practices and attitudes towards adopting AI. According to Oneserve, utilities companies lose an aver- age of £78,585 per year due to machine and system downtime. In total, 41 per cent of those surveyed cited the inability to spot internal technical faults as one of the reasons behind the losses, while 27 per cent pinned the blame on old machinery and legacy systems. A further 20 per cent said a lack of training, leading to staff misusing systems, was to blame. More than half of those polled said machine and system down- time had also led to a "serious negative impact" on customer loyalty and company reputation. This week Two-thirds of public back onshore wind Most people say policy of excluding new onshore windfarms from the energy mix should change Two-thirds of people in Britain are in favour of changing gov- ernment policy to allow more onshore windfarms to be built where they have local backing. In a poll commissioned by Renewable UK, conducted by YouGov, it was revealed 66 per cent think the government should change its current policy of excluding new onshore windfarms from the energy mix. Support for the move was high among Conservative voters, with 61 per cent saying the exclusion of onshore wind should end. Of people living in rural areas, 65 per cent agree, while just 15 per cent oppose the change. Support for building onshore windfarms over other infrastructure options is strong, according to the poll. When asked which type of development they would favour most in their local area, an onshore windfarm came out on top with 23 per cent, which was higher in rural areas, at 26 per cent. It beat a new railway line (22 per cent), a housing development (17 per cent), a dual carriageway (16 per cent), a fracking site (4 per cent) and a nuclear power station (2 per cent). The poll, which surveyed 3,609 adults, also shows a high level of support among younger people for action on climate change. Sixty per cent of those aged under 40 said the government is not doing enough on this issue, while 75 per cent said ministers should increase invest- ment in renewable energy to tackle the problem. Renewable UK executive director Emma Pinchbeck said: "The government's policy is massively out of step with public opinion. Whether it's the over-65s, people in rural communities or younger voters who want action on climate change, abandoning the onshore wind ban is popular across the board." AJ ENERGY Record number of customers switch A record 222,036 energy cus- tomers switched to small and mid-tier suppliers in June – the highest number ever recorded by Energy UK. In total, 481,677 customers switched during the month, with a net 46 per cent of these switching from larger providers to smaller providers. Compared with June 2017, last month saw 19 per cent more customers switch supplier. The figures show 53 per cent went from larger to small and mid-tier suppliers, while 7 per cent went from small and mid- tier to larger suppliers. So far in 2018, more than 2.7 million customers have switched supplier. Ofgem said it was work- ing to make the market "more competitive". A spokesperson said: "Switching is the best way for consumers to save money, so it's great more people are doing this, but there are still too many consumers who are paying too much for their energy. "This is why we are putting price protection in place to protect those people who don't switch while we work with suppliers to make the market more competi- tive and better for consumers." Confidence in switching is also increasing, with nine in ten customers saying they are happy with the process, according to the latest research from the Energy Switch Guarantee. Energy UK chief executive Lawrence Slade said: "With the Energy Switch Guarantee in place, consumers should feel even more confident that switching will be simple, speedy and safe." ENERGY Council-owned firm faces the chop A council-owned energy com- pany may be scrapped with a loss of £1 million before it begins operating, aer concerns were raised by the current leadership. Portsmouth City Council approved the establishment of Victory Energy last year with a view to the company generating £2 million a year for the council. But following a change in the "regulatory environment" and a change in administration, the plans are now in doubt. Current Liberal Democrat leader of the council, councillor Gerald Vernon-Jackson, has engaged PwC to conduct a review into the profitability of the fledgling firm. Vernon-Jackson told Utility Week: "My questions around the business plan have been around the number of new custom- ers it says need to be acquired each year to break even. I am concerned about whether it is realistic to have the number of sales per agent that the business envisaged." It has been reported that the scheme will have to sign up 44,000 new households each year to break even. PwC is due to report back at the end of this month. Onshore windfarm: most favoured development Nearly two-thirds (64 per cent) believed AI will be incred- ibly valuable to business, while four in ten said AI will support the current utilities workforce, making it more efficient, cost- effective and customer-focused. Of those who have already integrated AI into their business, 53 per cent said their workforce had become more productive since harnessing the technology.

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