Utility Week

Customers 26 | 6TH - 12TH DECEMBER 2019 | UTILITY WEEK A number of key players in the utilities sector have launched a scheme to help their customers to avoid falling victim to scams. British Gas, SSE, Cadent, the Consumer Council for Water (CCWater) and Yorkshire Water are among the founding members of the Utilities Against Scams (UAS) initiative. Participants have pledged to provide training to thousands PAN-UTILITY Utilities launch new scheme to help protect customers from scams of staff who interact daily with customers in their home, on the phone, or digitally. This will allow staff to more easily spot warning signs, provide help and report potential scams. The scheme is backed by National Trading Standards, which in its annual consumer harm report released on 27 November, revealed energy- related fraud is a growing issue. Specifically, the report warns, increasing awareness of green issues has given fraudsters new opportunities. There have been reports of salespeople luring customers into purchas- ing unnecessary energy-saving devices for their homes, and scams relating to solar energy and insulation are attractive to rogue traders, who use doorstep and cold-calling tactics. This week Millions of smart meters still 'dumb' Almost 20 per cent are operating in 'traditional' mode and not communicating with the network Millions of smart meters continue to operate in "dumb" mode, according to the latest government statistics released on 28 November. One industry observer has estimated that if installations continue at the current rate, the smart meter rollout will not be complete until 2028. According to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), there were 15.6 million smart meters in operation as of 30 September – a 4 per cent increase on the previous quarter. More than 1.06 million smart meters were installed in domestic properties by large suppliers, a 6 per cent increase on Q2. Meanwhile 20,800 non-domestic meters were installed by large suppliers, a 6 per cent decrease. Yet almost 20 per cent of these (3.1 million) were operating in what BEIS refers to as "traditional" mode, meaning they do not communicate with the network properly. Despite the government's pledge to move the rollout deadline to 2024, only 28 per cent of domestic meters are now smart meters operating in smart mode, meaning there is still a huge challenge ahead for the energy sector before the target can be reached. Peter Earl, head of energy at comparison website comparethemarket.com, said: "Despite a small upliœ in the number of smart meters in operation, the current installation rate is still way off the mark if the 2024 target is to be achieved. "If installations carry on at the current pace, we esti- mate that we won't see a smart meter in 85 per cent of homes until at least 2028 – four years past the recently revised deadline." AJ WATER Satisfaction survey ranks GB second The water and sewerage sector in Great Britain has been rated the second highest in the world, behind Germany, in an inter- national survey of satisfaction. Levels of satisfaction with British water services ranked 18 percentage points higher than the global average. The poll by Ipsos for the Global Infrastructure Investor Association showed 73 per cent of respondents called water and sewerage services "good", com- pared with 55 per cent globally. Domestically, water was the second highest rated infrastruc- ture sector – behind airports but ahead of motorways, wind energy, rail infrastructure and flood defences. Despite the renationalisation threat looming, public owner- ship was not a priority for survey respondents, with only 8 per cent saying ownership, whether public or private, should be an important factor in future infra- structure planning. More than half – 58 per cent – favoured private investment in infrastructure and 62 per cent said they would prefer technical experts rather than elected poli- ticians to make decisions about new infrastructure. Water UK chief executive Michael Roberts said: "The water industry in this country has invested billions of pounds in making our water and sewer- age services some of the best in the world, and it is good to see the recognition for the many advances and improvements made over the years." WATER Study finds benefits from linking firms and the community The benefits of greater collabora- tion between water companies and community groups has been highlighted in a study by University of Sussex to find ways for low-income households to be more water efficient. The project began in 2016 to explore how a joined-up approach could be used to bet- ter spread the water efficiency message to customers, particu- larly those who struggle with affordability. The Community Water Part- nership, with Southern Water, CCWater and Brighton and Hove City Council, has now recom- mended its approach be rolled out across the UK to benefit low- income communities and save water. It found three areas had an impact on water use: certain health conditions, more fre- quent washing associated with religious observation, and high usage by children and young people. The Partnership found that by working with health, wel- fare and faith-based community organisations, it was better able to understand usage and discuss consumption because these partners brought different forms of legitimacy and a closer under- standing of people's lives. Not so smart: many meters not communicating National Trading Standards said it is working with energy regulator Ofgem on a "two to three year" programme of work to tackle the growing issue. Louise Baxter, from the National Trading Standards Scams Team, said: "It's fantastic that the utility sector has come together to create this impor- tant new network and join our campaign."

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