Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | 19TH - 25TH JULY 2019 | 25 Operations & Assets to this challenge. Working independently, each team came at the challenge from signif- icantly different angles and landed on widely contrasting solutions. One team generated a solution that also addressed wider consumer confidence chal- lenges in the market. It was based on the creation of a pre-switch validation platform, which would allow customers to verify their usage data and simulate likely bills under different tariff options. The team suggested that the "midata in energy" project led by Ofgem and the Department for Energy and Industrial Strategy could be leveraged to make the solution work. It was the second team's solution, how- ever, that was ultimately judged to posit the most viable and targeted solution to the core challenge – how might we switch and account and resolve any payment issues in a single transaction? Their solution aimed to create a seamless customer transition between suppliers that would involve no final bill at all. This relied on bilateral working between the incumbent and new supplier to transfer credit balances and resolve debt behind the scenes. While the team behind the solution rec- ognised there would be challenges in imple- menting such a process – not least cash flow issues for suppliers – the ambition to eliminate the need for a final bill from the switching process was an exciting one for the group. One event participant also suggested that the solution could be automated using a blockchain-style technology, thereby remov- ing potential challenges around the manage- ment of manifold bilateral agreements in the market. The event ended with strong positive feedback from participants on the oppor- tunity it had afforded to think in a targeted way about a specific switching problem. It was clear from group discussion and sub- mitted pain point information that resolving final billing issues could significantly alter customer perceptions of switching and ease anxiety about unexpected negative impacts. Arguably, this problem area should become a focus for regulator-run switching improve- ment programmes, which have been domi- nated to date by a drive for faster switching. TI Council 2019 The future switching sprint event was fol- lowed by the first 2019 meeting of the Tech- nology and Innovation Council, a joint initiative run by Utility Week and Wipro to foster fresh thinking and the adoption of transformative new technologies in the utili- ties sector. The meeting featured a special guest Wipro council The Utility Week-Wipro Technology and Innovation Council originally launched in 2015 with the ambition of providing a regular forum for ideas sharing and inspiration for utilities professionals with responsibility for technology uptake and innovation. Since then, the council has become widely recognised in the industry, regularly bringing together leading innovators and technology experts from across the energy and water sectors. Their guidance and insight has also led to the publication of a series of bespoke research reports, each uncovering valuable insights into the priorities and challenges faced by those attempting to create the utili- ties of tomorrow. The next Utility Week-Wipro Technology and Innovation Council event is due to take place in November. For more details, please contact LizIzard@fav-house.com. The sprint challenge: How might we… switch an account and resolve any payment issues in the same transaction? Associated pain points (submitted by i ndustry participants in advance of the event): • Late final bills; • Inaccurate final and/or first bills; • Customer uncertain of credit balance; • Customer uncertainty about when/if any credit will be refunded a‹er a switch; • Lack of customer awareness about the need to pay off outstanding debt with old supplier following a switch; • Lack of clarity about exactly when a final bill will land (can be problematic for cus- tomers with specific budgeting needs); • Mistrust of final bill accuracy from old sup- plier; • Switch objections being raised in error due to incorrect debt records or direct debit calculations on part of the supplier. A major pain point in switching is settlement of the final bill… one team's solution aimed to create a seamless customer transition between suppliers that would involve no final bill at all. presentation from senior leaders at architec- tural engineering firm Foster and Partners who spoke to the group about the impor- tance of "human-centric" design in the built environment – especially in response to the macro trends of population growth and urbanisation. Among a range of insights into unique architectural projects, including design and delivery of Apple Park – the tech giant's new California headquarters – the presen- tation showed how data on the stress lev- els experienced by individuals in different surroundings is being leveraged by Foster and Partners, with the help of advanced analytics, to create award-winning sustain- able spaces that are able to prompt and harness useful behaviours from their inhab- itants. In work places, this included deliver- ing tangible boosts to workforce productivity. In light of the changing face of the utilities industry and the growing demand to harness customer behaviours in order to overcome key industry and societal challenges, council members said this "human-centric" design concept provided a timely challenge to the traditional engineering mentalities still dom- inant in most of their companies. The Foster and Partners presentation also included insights into the work the firm is doing to design smart homes, cities and electric vehicle charging infrastructure, prompting a number of dinner attendees to admit there is a need for utilities to "think bigger" about the collaborative partnerships they are seeking in future energy system innovation schemes. Other key topics discussed over the course of dinner included the net zero emis- sions challenge laid down by the Commit- tee on Climate Change and the innovation impetus this ought to give the sector. Some concerns were raised as to whether the sec- tor's traditionally low-risk investors might put limitations on the ambition and vigour with which utilities approach environmen- tally driven innovation. But overall optimism won out, suggesting that investors increas- ingly recognised innovation for environ- mental sustainability as far lower risk than a failure to recognise the threat posed by climate change. Beyond investor influence, a key concern was that the remit of utility regulators – for both energy and water – is not sufficiently aligned to facilitating decarbonisation or environmental stewardship. Since the coun- cil met, both regulators have outline plans to review their relationship with the climate change challenge and the way in which it should influence their regulatory strategies and toolkits.

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