Utility Week

24 | 23RD - 29TH NOVEMBER 2018 | UTILITY WEEK Customers Analysis W ater companies have been battered by some pretty extreme weather. The past year has been especially testing of their resilience to such events. No sooner had they recovered from the rapid freeze and thaw brought about by the so- called Beast from the East – which cut off more than 200,000 customers from supply for more than four hours – did they have to cope with some of the driest weather the UK has ever seen. Now as we head into the winter, and some of the more dramatic national news- papers scream excitedly about the "return of the Beast", all eyes will be on water compa- nies to see how they respond. PA Consulting water expert Richard Khaldi says Ofwat is likely to take a "much harder line" with any company not prepared. "Companies are coming off the back of a tough year operationally with both the Beast from the East in February and one of the dri- est summers on record," he tells Utility Week. "Ofwat's review of companies' actions dur- ing the February freeze and thaw highlighted that most of the issues that occurred were within the control of companies." "As we head into winter, I predict that we will see Ofwat taking a much harder line should companies be overwhelmed again with weather events. Ofwat has already shown with the Thames Water Section 19 leakage undertaking that it is willing to take enforcement action if it believes a company does not have sufficient oversight or control over its activities." Khaldi warns companies to make sure their planning and systems are ready for winter, or else be prepared to defend them- selves against charges of failing to meet their statutory obligations. Ofwat made no bones about its disap- pointment at the response of some compa- nies to the freeze-thaw incident, especially because the severe weather was forecast in advance. A spokesperson for the regulator says it expects all companies to "show they have learned lessons and are prepared for what- ever the weather brings". "We also expect the water industry as a whole to transform how it works together in situations like these and show it can pull together to deliver for customers," they add. Cold weather brings with it the threat of pipe bursts as water freezes and expands. And it's not just pipes on water companies' networks that can burst. In many cases, it is pipes on customers' properties. These cus- tomers are oen unaware that the pipes are their responsibility, not the water company's – so it is important that firms get communi- cation right. As if this wasn't enough to deal with, there is also the issue of vulnerable customers who may need additional support during cold and icy weather, especially in the event of disruption to supplies. Are companies ready for a potential onslaught coming their way? It certainly seems so. But their prepared- ness will undoubtedly be put to the test as the weather worsens and the nights draw in. Wessex Water Wessex Water began its preparations for winter back in the summer. "Every year our preparations for cold weather start in August when we ensure we have the right vehicles and equipment in place for engineers to fix problems and help customers should we face extreme conditions," says a spokesperson. "During this year's Beast from the East we were able to ensure few customers were le without water as we used our multi-million- pound water supply grid, which allowed us to get water to where it was needed. We also invested heavily in leakage detection to minimise the amount of water lost from our network." The vast majority of problems the com- pany encountered in the South West during the latest extreme weather event were down to customers experiencing problems on pipework that they are responsible for. Wessex's customer awareness campaign for this winter is already under way and it involves helping customers – in particular those in vulnerable situations – to protect their home by lagging pipes in cold areas, as well as knowing where their stopcock is and ensuring it works. United Utilities United Utilities insists it is ready for whatever the weather throws at it this winter. Resil- ience manager Niall Clarke says the com- pany has honed its resilience and response to freeze-thaw events over "a number of extreme seasons". The firm, which supplies seven million people in the North West, was one of the companies praised by Ofwat in a report following the Beast from the East, for Are water firms ready for winter? Extreme weather has hit water companies hard of late, most notoriously the Beast from the East. So are they prepared for the coming winter? Lois Vallely reports. "I predict that we will see Ofwat taking a much harder line should companies be overwhelmed again with weather events." PA Consulting water expert Richard Khaldi 200k customers off supply for more than four hours during the Beast from the East 60k customers off supply for more than 12 hours 3% proportion of total customers affected 40% customers impacted who received no communication from their water company BEAST FROM THE EAST IN NUMBERS

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