Utility Week

4 www.utilityweek.co.uk/fLeX U P F R O N T 4 www.utilityweek.co.uk/fLeX N o-one wants to eat in a restaurant that's been panned on TripAdvisor, or sign a contract with a mobile phone supplier that overcharges. What the customer says goes, and utilities are having to play catch up. In this, our second issue of Flex, we look at the power of the consumer and how water and energy firms are responding to greater expectations and regulatory demands. Integral to this is the role technology can play in delivering better service and building trust – if you get it right. In the world of apps, voice assistants and AI, utilities have a dazzling array of new tools at their disposal but a difficult choice selecting winners. What developing technologies should they invest in and which will pay dividends? How can they embrace a culture of "super speedy, no fuss" digital transactions while not abandoning those who want to pay their bills traditionally rather than with the swipe of a screen? ese issues are explored in our feature pages (Smarter tech = happier customers, page 20) and in our interview with Mike Young, the global chief information officer driving digitalisation at Centrica (page 14). With 25 million customers and a legacy culture to flip, his aim to match best-in-class retailers like John Lewis is ambitious. But that's the name of the game today. Technology's ability to help vulnerable people is another growing and laudable trend as firms like EDF team with start- ups to extend connected home services for elderly relatives (page 34). Consumer power is not a one-way street. Water companies have realised it can work both ways and are harnessing a new consumer force – citizen scientists – to help protect the environment (page 28). Arguably, the ultimate in consumer power is the rise of the prosumer – customers who actively manage their own energy production, storage and consumption (page 10). Costs can still be prohibitive and there are technical challenges to overcome. But be warned, the customer of the future is closer than most might think. People power in all its guises is an unstoppable force. Denise Chevin Editor, Flex denisechevin@fav-house.com Taking data to task E nergy and clean growth minister Claire Perry recently launched a new task force on energy data. e Energy Data Task force, which has a remit to look at how unlocking the value of energy data could drive innovation and cut consumers' bills, will be run by Energy Systems Catapult. Flex' spoke to Laura Sandys, former MP and chief executive of Challenging Ideas, for a progress report on the task force's work. What problem is the task force seeking to tackle? It will be looking to establish a set of overarching principles for energy system data, including recommending common standards and security measures. ere is a lot of data in the energy sector but it's all over the place, the housekeeping is not great and the skills (for handling it) not tremendous. ere are serious people in energy who say it can take three to four hours to find the data asset that is useful even if you absolutely know what you are looking for. By David Blackman

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