Utility Week

28 | 30TH AUGUST - 5TH SEPTEMBER 2019 | UTILITY WEEK Customers Conference Consumer Vulnerability Conference, London, June 2019 A longside the growing demand for leadership in tackling climate change, arguably the most profound shi to have taken place in the utilities industry over the past five years has been the migration of responsibility from state to industry for safe- guarding the most vulnerable members of our society. Though utilities have long shown con- cern for customers with challenging cir- cumstances – whether these are caused by financial difficulties or physical and mental disabilities – it is only more recently that it has become a requirement for firms to show distinct capabilities in the provision of sup- port to an increasingly broad interpretation of consumer vulnerability. For example, Ofgem's introduction of an enforceable vulnerability principle in its standards of conduct for domestic suppliers, and the inclusion of incentives for serving vulnerable customers within the network-focused Broad Measure of Customer Service. By and large, utilities express a keen- ness to embrace the new weight of expecta- tion that has been placed on them as private providers of lifeline services. However, as became clear at Utility Week's Consumer Vulnerability Conference in June, the reality of doing so does not always lead to a warm fuzzy feeling of satisfaction with an impor- tant job well done. A complex challenge Providing high quality support and inclusive services for consumers in vulnerable cir- cumstance is a complex challenge. First off, vulnerability includes a broad range of per- manent and transient customer issues that can be difficult to identify and monitor. Once consumer challenges have been identified, there can be obstacles to over- come in terms of convincing customers to accept this – few people like being identi- fied as vulnerable and many are suspicious of utility generosity. And then the ultimate challenge, devising suitable responses to vulnerability in a way that does not unac- ceptably impact the cost-of-service provision to the customer base as a whole. Our June conference heard that utilities are making great strides to overcome these challenges. In an increasingly data-rich world, advances are being made in effec- tively gathering and sharing consumer data so that utilities can gain greater collective visibility of the shiing vulnerabilities of individuals and co-ordinate their efforts to support them. A presentation from Western Power Distri- bution's stakeholder engagement manager, Alex Wilkes, highlighted the top performing network's focus on collecting and monitor- ing consumer data for signs of vulnerability and how this information is leveraged effec- tively in partnership with third parties. The conference also provided brief insights into the ongoing work to develop a shared priority services register across energy and water utilities – a scheme being co-ordinated by governance body Elec- tralink. The shared register is due to go live in April 2020. Presentations and debate also highlighted a growing consensus that effective support for vulnerable customers is best devised by first understanding the "lived experience" of consumers with a variety of vulnerability "types" and designing "needs-based" solu- tions. This represents a shi away from a more vertically focused approach to design- ing support and accessibility around specific definitions of vulnerability. This rising focus on lived experience is a positive outcome of collaboration between utilities and trusted partners in the third Help is on hand, but who needs it? Utilities are increasingly being charged with helping vulnerable customers, but identifying those in need and engaging with them is a complex task. Jane Gray reports. Suppliers are cutting vulnerability support under price cap pressure The conference comment that created Utility Week headlines came from Centrica's director of consumer vulnerability, Steve Crabb. According to Crabb, the price cap is having a "devastating effect" on the energy sector and is impacting on the resources made available for work with the third sector on vulnerability challenges. Crabb, who has since departed Centrica, emphasised that his views were his own rather than his employer's. But he warned those gathered at the conference, including regulatory leaders, that the default tariff cap is putting at risk much of the positive steps suppliers have been taking in recent years to improve support for those customers most in need. Crabb's contribution came as part of a penal debate on how utility companies can make bills affordable for all. He said: "The anecdotal evidence I am getting is that the price cap is having a devastating effect. Many charities that work in partnership with energy suppliers are saying their funding is drying up. It's causing real strain on energy suppliers so I'm worried that the effects of the price cap could see a reversal of a lot of the things that have been done around consumer vulnerability over the past few years." Also on the panel was Rob Salter-Church, Ofgem's director of retail transformation, who was involved in the implementation of the price cap. He responded: "We believe the price cap is delivering on a lot of the objectives set out. In the first year we expect the tariff cap will save consumers somewhere in the region of £1 billion. "Another thing it is trying to do is drive efficiencies in the sector. We set the cap at a level that presented a challenge to the sector and that challenge was to become more efficient. "It's sad that maybe the place energy companies are going to achieve those efficiencies is to cut some of the support they are giving to vulnerable customers – either directly or through the charities they work with." He stressed that Ofgem was committed to keeping the price cap under review and would be monitoring in particular how suppliers treat vulnerable customers.

• Cover