Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | DECEMBER 2021 | 11 Conference report in association with That was the message from a panel of utility sector experts at the conference who discussed the important role of consumers in driving down emissions and how this should be communicated by utilities. The panel from SSE, Scottish Water, UK Power Networks and water watchdog CCW, was united in saying consumers' interest in and concern about climate change exceed their understanding of what actions they could or should take. Tim Lord, senior fellow at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, said over the past 10 years the UK's emissions reductions have largely been achieved without requiring customers to do very much. Behavioural changes have accounted for just 13%, with the vast majority resulting from technological changes that have not sig- ni‰ cantly aŠ ected consumers' lives. Over the next 15 years, Lord said this proportion will need to rise to 59%. "That is a huge change, which will have massive implica- tions for relationships with customers," he declared. Lord said the sector must step up to educate consumers about their vital role in the energy transition and how they can bene‰ t. He said work needs to be done to make low-carbon home improvements easier to understand, purchase and install because it is unreasonable to expect consumers to undertake them otherwise. His sentiments were echoed by Chris Burchell, distribution man- aging director at SSE, who said operators have "a huge responsibility as we enter a crucial decade for the transition". He said " exibility can be "complicated and daunting" for custom- ers and likewise needs to be made easier to understand, although he added that not all customers will be interested in engaging. Ian Cameron, head of innovation at UK Power Networks, said the sector should try to "make energy cool again". He said it should at least aim for interested, "but if we land on 'aware and informed' then we're doing well". Mike Keil, director of policy, research and campaigning at water watchdog CCW, said water consumers are similarly unaware about the part they can play in protecting the environment. He noted that people o— en don't connect how their actions impact waterways, or how the water sector contributes to emissions, because not a lot of eŠ ort has been taken to explain this. "There's a clear gap where people need help to understand their climate impact with practical steps to reduce their impact. If you spell that out, there will be lot more traction for people changing behaviour," Keil said. Gordon Reid, zero emissions manager at Scottish Water, said this should include talking to consumers about both the cost savings and carbon reductions that can be achieved by using less hot water. He said this would start a dialogue with billpayers, but one that requires early engagement. Lord added that utilities have a responsibility to be at the fore- front of the low-carbon transition because the sector will be spend- ing hundreds of billions of pounds on infrastructure. But Cameron said that looking too far into the future could have a paralysing eŠ ect on companies and their customers and so it is bet- ter to focus on the immediate situation because "customers want to see what they need to do now and next, not at 2050". Ruth Williams, water correspondent Early engagement, improved information and action over words are all needed to change consumer behaviour and reach net zero. New vision needed for retail market The government and Ofgem need a new vision for the energy retail market if it is to come out of the current crisis stronger, a sen- ior Energy UK ‰ gure told the conference. Criticising the government's energy retail strategy, Simon Markall, the trade body's deputy director of external relations, said: "It has 2015 solutions to a 2010 problem that will only be delivered in 2027." The strategy, published in July, was heav- ily focused on introducing new switching propositions for consumers. Markall said the emphasis should instead be on innovation and introducing new products and services. "We need to get round the table with the government and the government needs to get round the table with us to deliver a proper retail strategy, a proper vision for the future of energy retail; one that supports customers in propositions to get to net zero, one that incentivises companies to deliver innovation and one that ultimately helps customers and the industry meet net zero," he stated. Markall was asked whether he agreed the continuing crisis in energy will put the mar- ket in a better place by reducing the focus on switching, as recently suggested by Martin Young, a senior analyst at Investec. He responded: "We can come out of this stronger but not in the current vision of what we get from the government and Ofgem." While Ofgem did not respond directly to Markall's comments, the regulator did point to the recent letter by chief executive Jona- than Brearley to suppliers in which he out- lined a series of measures Ofgem will take to combat market volatility. "We also recognise there is a case for wider and deeper changes to ensure the energy sec- tor is resilient against potential continued global market volatility, and is able to deliver the transition to net zero in consumers' inter- ests," Brearley said in the letter. A spokesperson for the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) said: "We are committed to building a resil- ient, competitive retail energy market that protects consumers and encourages suppli- ers to invest in innovation, ensuring both consumers and suppliers are able to move towards more low carbon energy. "Our Energy White Paper will drive the historic transformation of the UK's energy system for a greener future – including fully decarbonising our electricity generation by 2050, and we are already looking at amend- ments to retail market regulation to acceler- ate the sector's progress towards net zero through the 2020s." Adam John, senior reporter

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