Utility Week

Customers UTILITY WEEK | 18TH - 24TH JANUARY 2019 | 25 The UK water industry has taken a major step forward in its "fight against fatbergs", by publishing an official standard to help con- sumers identify which wet wipes can be flushed safely. The new "fine to flush" symbol will inform people which products do not contain plastic and will break down in the sewer system. Manufacturers of wipes will WATER Sector steps up its fight against fatbergs with wet wipes labelling be able to feature the official symbol on their packaging if the product passes strict scientific tests, which will be carried out by scientific and sustainability consultants WRc. Water companies have been grappling with the unfortunate effects of non-flushable wet wipes for decades. However, fatbergs – mainly caused by a build-up of wet wipes, fats, oils and grease into a solid mass – have been increasing in frequency in recent years. These include a 250m-long fatberg in Whitechapel in London in 2017, which weighed as much as 19 elephants, and a recently discovered 64m fatberg blocking a sewer in Sidmouth, Devon. Although there has been an increase in products being This week Thames and SES rank bottom on SIM scores Customer satisfaction scores rise overall, but extreme weather hits some firms' response times Ofwat last week noted the "dis- appointing performance" on cus- tomer service by Thames Water and SES Water when it pub- lished reports on water company service, delivery and financial performance in 2017/18. The companies were ranked according to the service incen- tive mechanism (SIM) scores and Thames Water came bottom with a score of 78.4, closely followed by SES Water at 78.7. This compares with an industry average of 84.6 for the period. Anglian Water was the top performer on customer satisfaction with a score of 88, followed by Portsmouth Water with 87.9. Ofwat said there had been "marked improvements" from both Southern Water and South West Water on customer satisfaction. It added that customer satisfaction had risen but it was still lagging other sectors. A spokesperson for Thames Water said the company was "disappointed with the results" and blamed extreme weather for affecting response times. "Since then we have reorganised ourselves to do much better," the spokesperson said. "We have listened to our customers and remain focused on delivering the high level of service they rightly expect." Dan Lamb, SES Water's head of retail services, said: "While our SIM score last year was not where we wanted it to be, it does not reflect the fundamental changes we have been making that have seen us increase our posi- tion in the quarterly results this year, including achiev- ing our highest ever billing score. He said the company was "heading in the right direc- tion to provide consistently excellent service". KP ENERGY Ovo rescues Economy Energy's customers Ovo Energy has been appointed as the supplier of last resort to take the 235,000 customers of failed supplier Economy Energy. Ofgem selected Ovo aer a competitive tender to get the "best deal possible" for customers. Ovo will honour all outstand- ing credit balances, including money owed to both existing and former customers of Economy Energy. The company said it would absorb all the costs associated with the credit balances and the migration of customers, instead of this being shared by the industry. Warm Home Discount cus- tomers who have already been approved by Economy Energy will continue to receive their payment from Ovo. Customers on prepayment tariffs can continue to top up their meters and will be contacted by Ovo's prepayment brand Boost. Philippa Pickford, Ofgem's director for future retail markets, said: "I am pleased to announce we have appointed Ovo Energy, which will offer Economy Energy's customers a competi- tive tariff for their energy. Their credit balances will be honoured and their energy supply will continue as normal. "Ovo Energy has also agreed to absorb the costs of tak- ing on these customers and outstanding credit balances, which means the extra costs will not fall on the industry or households." ENERGY Price cap could rise 'significantly' Ofgem chief executive Dermot Nolan has warned that there could be a "significant" jump in the level of the energy price cap when it is reviewed next month. The cap on standard variable tariffs is due to undergo its first half-yearly review in February. This exercise will fix the level of the cap, which was intro- duced at the beginning of this month at a level of £1,137, for the six months from April. Outlining Ofgem's future work programme at the regula- tor's "Energy of the Future" conference on 10 January, Nolan blamed rising wholesale costs for nudging up prices. Any increase in the price cap would reflect the "actual costs of supplying energy", rather than suppliers profiteering, he said. Wholesale energy costs, which saw a sharp rise in the second half of 2018, are one of the chief factors contributing to the level of the cap in Ofgem's methodology. Responding to questions later during the conference, energy minister Claire Perry insisted that consumers on tariffs cov- ered by the cap would still be "tens of pounds" better off than if it had not been introduced. SES: 'heading in the right direction' labelled "do not flush", there are many wipes on the market labelled "flushable" that do not break down quickly enough when they enter the sewer sys- tem, and which would not pass the tests required to receive the "fine to flush" symbol. The label- ling of these products can cause confusion among consumers, increasing the problem of sewer blockages.

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