Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | 2ND - 8TH NOVEMBER 2018 | 19 Operations & Assets Operations & Assets Reusing water has the potential to reduce pressure on Yorkshire Water's drinking water supply network, lower the costs of water treatment and reduce carbon emissions. The slabs will be tested over time to assess their strength, colour, and long-term weathering properties – and confirm that the product is suitable for widespread use. If the trial is successful, Yorkshire Water will look to develop further applications for reused water sup- plies – for concrete manufacturers as well as other business users – across the region. If you have an asset or project you would like to see featured in this slot, please send pictures and details to: paulnewton@fav-house.com Market view Spotting the signs of energy theft Suppliers must raise awareness of the financial and safety risks of tampering with energy meters, says Lloyd Birkhead. E nergy the is a growing problem. While there's cer- tainly a lot of great work being done within the sec- tor, there is still much to do. To raise awareness of this crime, we recently commis- sioned research into energy the, which revealed a host of worrying findings. Although consumers demonstrate some awareness of energy the, more than a third (39 per cent) do not realise it poses a life-threatening safety risk, and this could be why one in four would be happy to turn a blind eye. Also, only one in four people (25 per cent) feel confident in their ability to spot the signs of a meter that has been tampered with. It's clear a more collaborative approach is needed, starting with greater involvement from consumers. While 97 per cent of consumers believe energy the is wrong, only 19 per cent do so because of safety con- cerns. So doing more to explain the dangers associated with energy the could decrease the number of potential non-reporters. It could also help diminish the success of those who offer to tamper with meters to reduce bills. More must be done to educate the public on how they can go about spotting a tamper themselves. Reporting rates could be increased by alerting people to be on the lookout at key moments. Given that consum- ers/landlords are most likely to spot energy the during a move into or out of a property we need to work closely with landlords, tenants and homeowners to raise aware- ness of inherited meter tampers. Swi action to investigate all leads is crucial. This is why, Grosvenor recently pushed for an agreement with the UK courts for a two-day warrant process (12 days less than the standard process). Technical resources are necessary to change and make safe a tampered meter, but it's worth considering the non- technical resources needed to tackle ancillary issues such as customer engagement, back billing, collecting debt and managing potential conflict. We estimate that up to three-quarters of visits could be handled by customer engagement or field collections specialists. We must work with the public to increase awareness and support, doing more to educate people about the financial and safety risks of meter tampering, raising the profile through media relations, and publicising our vic- tories in the fight against energy thieves. We've seen the deadly consequences of energy the on multiple occasions, and yet it still flies under the radar. If greater action is not taken, I fear we may be due a devastating wake-up call. Lloyd Birkhead, group managing director, Grosvenor Services Group

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