Utility Week

The Month in Review UTILITY WEEK | APRIL 2022 | 7 Ombudsman sees smart meter complaints rise Ombudsman Services is seeing a trend of increasing smart meter com- plaints, its chief executive has told Utility Week. Matthew Vickers, who is also chief ombudsman, revealed that the organisation has received more than 69,500 complaints in 2021, 18% up on 2019. He said smart meter complaints in particular have been rising "both in number and proportion". Issues with connectivity have blighted the smart meter rollout from the beginning, with some devices being unable to properly communicate with a new supplier when a consumer switches. According to the latest government figures, more than 4.7 million smart meters were in 'traditional' mode at the end of Q3 2021, meaning they had lost their smart functionality. Ombudsman Services said complaints about smart meters have increased at a rate that exceeds the growth in the number of installed smart meters, surging by 60% between 2020 and 2021. There were more than 2,300 complaints about smart meters in 2019. This increased to more than 3,400 in 2020 and to 5,500 in 2021. Complaints about the devices not communicating properly made up the majority of smart meter complaints in 2021. The top 5 subcategories for smart meter complaints are currently: • Loss of smart meter communications. • Meter not recording accurately/faulty. • In home display problems. • Smart meter not sending meter readings. • Failed installation. Calls for MHHS to be delayed Energy retailers have raised concerns about their abil- ity to participate in Market- wide Half-Hourly Settlement (MHHS) and have requested the design phase be pushed back by several months. The MHHS Programme (MHHSP), a separate busi- ness unit within Balancing and Settlement Code (BSC) administrator Elexon, told Utility Week that two change requests have been raised to amend the delivery approach for completing the design phase of the programme, which was due to finish at the end of April. Both of these proposals, MHHSP said, seek to allow for increased opportunities for more input from energy suppliers. The first change request by MHHSP was raised following a consultation suppliers. It seeks to move the completion of the design phase of the programme to 29 July. "This allows a number of suppli- ers more time to review the design documentation before baselining the design at the end of July," MHHSP said. Corona Energy raised the second change request on behalf of several suppliers, proposing that the end of the design phase be delayed until the end of November 2022. This second request says that full supplier engagement is currently difficult in light of the unprecedented demands placed on them by vari- ous factors outlined in their change request. A spokesperson for the MHHSP told Utility Week it was confident the design would be robust as it has had "some supplier engagement". But they added that allowing more time for greater engage- ment would "increase further confidence in the design". Soaring energy bills could 'push a third of households into fuel poverty' Annual household energy bills could rise to "much higher" than £3,000 in October, Energy UK's chief executive has warned. Emma Pinchbeck told a House of Commons reception in mid- March, organised by the industry body and the all-party Parliamen- tary Renewable and Sustainable Energy Group (PRASEG), that predictions the energy price cap could increase to £3,000 seem "plausible in a way it would not have done a few weeks ago". She added that "much higher" rises also seem "plausible" given the impact of the war in Ukraine on an already turbulent whole- sale gas market. Such large increases would push "around a third" of house- holds into fuel poverty, defined as when they are spending a tenth of their income on energy bills. The government "may need to do more" than it had done in February when chancellor of the exchequer Rishi Sunak announced his £9.1 billion pack- age of measures to support energy customers, she said. She was speaking before the Spring Statement, in which Sunak axed VAT on energy-saving retrofits but was criticised for taking no new steps to mitigate soaring energy bills. As Utility Week went to press, details of the government's promised energy supply strategy had yet to emerge. In terms of the industry's response, the Energy UK head urged it to get onto a "war foot- ing" to "see how fast we can go". Her call for was backed by PRASEG chair Bim Afolam, who said: "The government needs to recognise that unless it can put on almost a war footing the deployment of much more of this British renewable energy, we are going to have a whole world of problems." Energy minister Greg Hands told the reception the current cri- sis "underscores" the importance of building a "strong, home- grown renewable energy sector". The Month in Review March saw several high-profile people moves across major utilities sector, including: Energy Networks Association (ENA) David Smith is to step down as chief execu- tive of the ENA at the end of the year a›er nearly two decades at the organisation. Smith joined the ENA in July 2003, serving as deputy chief executive until his promotion to chief executive in October 2007. Electricity North West Gillian Williamson has made history as Elec- tricity North West's first female engineer- ing director. A chartered engineer, William- son made the step up from ENW's strategic planning team and in her new role will help the firm deliver its £1.8 billion investment plan to lead the North West to net zero. EDF EDF's managing direc- tor of nuclear develop- ment is to retire a›er two decades with the company. Humphrey Cadoux-Hudson, who has held a number of positions at EDF including chief financial officer, will continue in his role until the end of June. Meanwhile, former Anglian Water chair Stephen Bllingham, who is currently chairman of nuclear fuel consortium Urenco, is being appointed in an advisory capacity and will become chair of Sizewell C later this year. Elexon Simon McCalla has been appointed as Elexon's chief execu- tive. He previously led online sustainability platform Sedex and was chief tech- nology officer at tech firm Nominet. Sara Vaughan, who has been interim chief executive since November, will return to her role as a non-executive director on the Elexon board. ON THE MOVE

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