Utility Week

Customers 26 | 6TH - 12TH MARCH 2020 | UTILITY WEEK A hybrid heating trial conducted by the Energy Systems Catapult has found that consumers are open to removing their gas boiler and replacing it with a heat pump, as long as they can buy their heat as a service. The trial, which took place in winter 2018/19, saw hybrid heating systems comprising a heat pump, a gas boiler and a set of controls installed in five of ENERGY Trial finds consumers willing to replace gas boiler with heat pump the 100 smart households in the Energy System Catapult's Living Lab. Upon completion, four of the five said they were open to removing the gas boiler and rely- ing entirely on the heat pump. This was provided they could buy their heat as a service, so they would pay a fixed weekly amount for their energy, mainte- nance and heating. Participants said fixing the costs of their heating would give them the confidence to leave their heating on for the longer periods of time a heat pump needed to warm their home. They also said that having inclusive servicing and main- tenance offered confidence in adopting unfamiliar technology. During the trial, participants said they felt no change in their This week Numerous complaints do not get reported Energy sector data on complaints masks the full extent of customer dissatisfaction with suppliers So-called passive complaints, which go unreported, about the service customers receive from their energy supplier pose a challenge to the sector, the Energy Ombudsman has said. It voiced its concern in response to an analysis of Ofgem data by Which?. The consumer group said almost three million complaints were not reported to suppliers in the year to September 2019, and had they been, complaints may have numbered almost seven million. Which? found the most common reason customers did not complain was because they thought it would not make a difference. Other reasons reported included "I couldn't be bothered" and a belief they did not have the time to do so. Billing and payments were the most common cause for complaints, followed by customer service and switching. In response to the research, the Energy Ombudsman said it recognised many of the findings and pointed to its 2019 Consumer Action Monitor, which revealed that younger generations and vulnerable people in particular tended to "suffer in silence". Jodi Hamilton, relation- ships director at the Energy Ombudsman, said: "We found that 70 per cent of people in vulnerable circum- stances suffered in silence rather than complaining, compared to 47 per cent of the rest of the population. "These unheard, passive complaints pose a challenge for the sector because complaints are one of the best sources of innovation and improvement for any busi- ness. There is also a risk that disillusioned complainers will simply vote with their feet by switching away." AJ See Energy Ombudsman on trust, p27 ELECTRICITY Flexibility progress 'slow and patchy' Progress towards the creation of a smarter and more flexible energy system is "too slow and too patchy", according to a report by several industry associations. The report was produced by Energy UK, the Association for Decentralised Energy and BEAMA, with support from RenewableUK and the Associa- tion for Renewable Energy and Clean Technology. It said the initial confidence in the Smart Systems and Flex- ibility Plan published by the government and Ofgem in 2017 had since "faltered". Failure to speed things up over the first half of this decade risks costing consumers £9 billion by 2050. The companies claimed that the industry was ready to deliver flexibility, but "policy needs to step up". BEAMA chief executive Howard Porter warned that confidence in the plan "is being lost" and he said members needed "clear, decisive action" to justify investment in the low- carbon supply chain. A lack of ambition and unclear timescales are leaving the market in "a state of flux". He said the government needed to take "bold action" if it was to fulfil its net zero com- mitment, including "ambitious reform of the retail market and a rebalancing of subsidies and tax to incentivise low-carbon fuels". ENERGY Social tariff needed for the vulnerable A "social discount" or tariff should be introduced for vulnerable energy customers to improve affordability for low- income households. That was one of several recommendations in a report by Christians Against Poverty (CAP), which surveyed more than 1,000 of the people it provides help to. A key issue it uncovered is that more than half (55 per cent) of prepayment meter customers have gone without heating, lighting, cooking or other energy-dependent activities at least occasionally in the past two years because they could not afford it, with three in ten (29 per cent) doing so weekly. The report makes several recommendations, including calling for the introduction of a social discount or tariff. While the charity did not specify what such tariffs would entail, a spokesperson said it was looking to "start the conversation". As regards the priority ser- vices register, it calls on Ofgem to clarify its purpose and create an alternative offering for people with affordability issues. Responding to the report, an Ofgem spokesperson told Utility Week: "Ofgem shares many of the concerns in the report about energy affordability and self-disconnection and will consider these recommendations carefully." Lost in the crowd: 'passive' complaints level of comfort a£er having a heat pump installed. Matt Lipson, consumer insight business lead at Energy Systems Catapult, said: "Our research shows that people care more about heating outcomes – such as getting warm and comfortable – than which device or system delivers the heat." See column by Energy Systems Catapult, p12

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