Utility Week

Customers UTILITY WEEK | 19TH - 25TH JULY 2019 | 27 Water companies have made 'no significant improvement' over the past year, according to the latest overview of the market by the Consumer Council for Water (CCWater). The group's Water Matters survey for 2018 warns that com- panies remain too complacent, particularly when it comes to boosting perceptions of value for money and fairness. WATER Water firms 'remain complacent', but satisfaction is still high Despite its damning topline conclusion, the report shows that satisfaction remains high although it has dipped since last year. Of the 5,000 custom- ers polled, 90 per cent said they were satisfied with their water services (92 per cent in 2017), and 85 per cent said they were satisfied with sewerage services (88 per cent the year before). Despite this, only 63 per cent of customers said charges were fair (61 per cent in 2017). The report also showed that customers in Wales are signifi- cantly more satisfied than house- holds in England when it comes to most aspects of their water company, including service, value for money and fairness. Looking at the picture over the longer term, the report shows that customers' trust in This week Government 'must police heat networks' Citizens Advice says many heat consumers suffer because of a lack of regulation The government "must bring the heat networks under regulation" by bringing forward legislation in the energy white paper to extend Ofgem's remit, Citizens Advice has urged. The consumer charity said in a report that the government must "close the gaps" in the regulation of decarbonisation incentives such as heat networks to protect consumers. The charity says that, because heat networks are unregulated, many more people will be at risk from bill- ing errors, standing charges and a lack of information. The Heat Trust scheme offers protection for custom- ers, but it is only voluntary. Only 2 per cent of households get their heating and hot water through a heat network, a figure expected to rise to 5 per cent by 2030. By 2050, more than 5 million homes could be heated this way. The charity's report said that "heat network consum- ers are experiencing varying levels of consumer detri- ment due to a lack of regulation" . It also argues that there is "no credible" UK-wide strategy to achieve the government's decarbonisation targets – including how customers will be protected and where the costs will fall. Citizens Advice wants the government to establish an independent commission to determine the fairest way to pay for the energy transition, legislate to extend Ofgem's powers to regulate heat networks, and consult on a strategy to decarbonise heat. An Ofgem spokesperson said: "Ofgem's remit is set by government and this does not currently include regulat- ing heat networks however we agree that heat network customers should get the same level of protection as customers in the gas and electricity sectors." AJ ENERGY DCC plans next day switching for 2021 The Data Communications Company (DCC) has officially launched a programme that will deliver next day switching for energy customers. Last year Ofgem unveiled its plans to introduce next day switching. The Central Switching Service (CSS) was initially sched- uled to go live at the end of next year but it has been pushed back to 2021. The DCC will develop and implement the CSS. Suppliers will not initially be obliged to switch customers by the end of the next working day but Ofgem has said it will intro- duce a "regulatory backstop" requiring them to switch custom- ers within five working days. "We expect that competi- tion and customer choice will result in next-day switching becoming the norm," it said. "Should that not be case, we will consider whether it is necessary to further tighten the switching speed requirement in the supply licences." The CSS will ensure meter points are accurately matched to addresses from an authoritative database for Great Britain. As part of the programme, four contracts have been awarded to companies that will deliver essential services. They are Netcompany, Landmark, Capgemini and Expleo. As well as the switching pro- gramme, the DCC is responsible for operating a central com- munications network for smart meters, allowing first-generation (SMETS1) meters to become interoperable. ENERGY Little support for green levies on bills Only a fi¡h of the public believe that support for renewable energy should be funded primar- ily through electricity or gas bills, according to a survey for the GMB union. The findings of the Survation poll, which were revealed along- side the union's response to the Committee on Climate Change's annual progress report, show that 78 per cent of the public believe the government should fund the development of the renewables industry. The survey also found that 51 per cent believe this money should mainly come from income tax. GMB said loading the costs of decarbonisation onto energy bills "disproportionately hits" those least able to pay. Justin Bowden, national secretary for energy at the GMB union, said: "It is not that UK citizens won't pay for the costs of decarbonisation. It is that millions simply cannot afford it. Recent comments from the likes of Caroline Lucas MP that costs per head in excess of £1,500 per head per year 'are a price worth paying' utterly miss the point and show how out of touch they are with millions of ordinary people who don't have that kind of cash." Ofgem's remit 'should be extended to heat' water companies has increased significantly – from 7.33 out of ten in 2011 to 7.70 in 2018. Dr Mike Keil, head of policy and research for CCWater, said: "Customers' perceptions over the fairness of their bills have languished behind satisfaction with service for almost a decade and companies cannot afford to ignore people's concerns any longer."

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