Utility Week

Customers UTILITY WEEK | 24TH - 30TH JANUARY 2020 | 29 Scottish and Southern Electric- ity Networks (SSEN) has teamed up with food delivery company Just East to keep its customers fed during power cuts and bad weather. Customers who have no power to cook have tradition- ally been given food from a welfare van. But soon those in SSEN's southern licence area will instead be given vouchers ELECTRICITY SSEN enlists Just Eat to feed customers during power cuts to use on the Just Eat app while supplies are restored. Lisa Doogan, SSEN's head of customer service, said: "We think it's important we make a power cut as comfortable as possible while our engineers work hard to restore the power, so we try to offer welfare provisions when the power cut is prolonged." The partnership has been successfully trialled in the Thames Valley and will be rolled out across the rest of SSEN's licence area in southern England during 2020. "This partnership ensures that customers have more choice and flexibility – meaning they can choose the food they want at a time that suits," added Doogan. "Importantly, work- ing with Just Eat also supports restaurants in the community This week Water firms must link bonuses to delivery Regulator says companies cannot demonstrate how executive payments are linked to performance The water regulator has raised concerns that companies are fail- ing to demonstrate how execu- tive bonus payments are linked to performance. In an update on board leadership, transparency and governance principles, Ofwat said transparency had improved, but that explanations of how payments matched performance were "difficult to understand". Most companies did not demonstrate how dividends and executive bonus payments were linked to delivery for customers. It is also concerned about a lack of action on conflicts of interest – particularly significant shareholdings. Ofwat reported that executive pay policies for 2020-25 met its expectations of being "stretching and substantially linked to delivery for customers", but by 2018-19 most companies had not yet implemented these commitments. It said that during that period only half the companies' explanations of payments included consideration of the level of service for customers and performance of the business. Bristol, SES, Yorkshire, United Utilities and Tideway were praised for their reporting practice. The report is part of Ofwat's work to build trust in the water sector. In April 2019, the regulator introduced the principle that water companies have a licence condition to follow. It asked for evidence that boards are setting long-term directions and making accountable decisions regarding the company's regulated activities without conflicts of interest. The report said explanations about board decision- making had been limited, but it saw an improvement in transparency of reporting of reserved matters. RW ENERGY Redress scheme distributes £4.2m More than £4.2 million in voluntary payments from energy companies has been redistrib- uted in the latest round of the energy redress scheme. The scheme, launched in April 2018 and managed by the Energy Saving Trust, is funded by voluntary payments made by energy companies found to be in breach of Ofgem rules. More than 110 charitable organisations applied for funds in the fiœh round of the funding scheme, and 30 were success- ful. They will be able to deliver projects that support vulnerable energy consumers. Projects include trials of energy-efficient technologies in social housing, heating system upgrades and energy advice in British Sign Language. The biggest award went to Groundwork UK. The charity was awarded more than £636,500 to work with local trusts in disadvantaged communities to identify, advise and help vulner- able energy customers in most severe need. ENERGY Face-to-face switches see a resurgence There has been a resurgence in face-to-face energy switches as smaller suppliers react to the removal of a requirement for price comparison websites to show a wider range of tariffs. Research from Cornwall Insight shows a 38 per cent increase in the number of face- to-face sales, reaching 1.1 million switches in the year to 30 Sep- tember 2019. Challenger brand Bulb is one such supplier understood to be trialling face-to-face sales. Telesales have seen a similar boost but at a much slower pace, rising 7 per cent to 1.6 million switches a year. New regulations to con- trol direct energy sales were implemented by Ofgem in 2009, resulting in a decline in face-to- face selling as many suppliers stopped using these methods. But Hannah Treacy, an ana- lyst at Cornwall Insight, said the removal of the whole-of-market requirements for Ofgem-accred- ited price comparison websites (PCWs) has meant that smaller challenger brands without commercial arrangements with PCWs have had to find alterna- tive routes to market. Treacy added: "One of the advantages for suppliers who opt to use this channel is that the benefits of the supplier can be explained more fully." The research also found that technology has enhanced face-to-face selling by offering better control of the sales agent's conduct, allowing them to target potential customers better and allowing quicker access for com- parison of a customer deal. Advances in technology, however, also increase the con- sumer's ability to compare tariffs for themselves. Yorkshire Water was praised for its reporting through increased trade, getting food to customers is easier and quicker; especially if there are issues on main routes that our welfare vans would find difficult to navigate." The firm will work with local restaurants, shops and commu- nity centres to make alternative provisions where customers are unable to order through Just East.

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