Utility Week

22 | JUNE 2022 | UTILITY WEEK Utility Week Live Show report Driving fresh mindsets for new challenges Utility Week Live 2022 returned in May to deliver our biggest and best show ever, with thousands of people attending to watch a host of fascinating content and engage with hundreds of exhibitors. Utility Week editor James Wallin and Aimie Chapple of headline sponsor Capita share their key takeaways. I f there was any doubt about the appe- tite for connection in the real world in a post-pandemic, hybrid-working society, Utility Week Live 2022 clearly dispelled then. Throngs of visitors packed into Hall 12 of the NEC on 17 and 18 May to learn, connect and be inspired. It was standing room only across the five stages right up to the final sessions and fantastic interaction with the audience. Comprehensive coverage of sessions across these stages and on the challenges that underpinned Utility Week Live 2022 will follow in the July edition of the magazine but the following are some initial takeaways from chairing the keynote stage over the two days. There were three key words that emerged from the discussions on the main stage: innovation; digitalisation; and vulnerability. In each case these are subjects that must go to the heart of every aspect of business pro- cesses for utilities, but the case was made several times that the terms themselves may be somewhat problematic. Take vulnerability – during the current cost of living crisis the range of customers who will need support with their bills has widened dramatically. In many cases these will be people pulled into debt or forced to ask for help for the first time. They do not consider themselves vulnerable and so why should utilities? Capita Experience chief executive Aimie Chapple made the case for the term "inclu- sion", citing the example of Lloyds Banking Group, which recently changed the name of its vulnerability team to the Customer Inclu- sion Team. Angela MacOscar, head of innovation at Northumbrian Water, agreed, pointing to 22 definitions of vulnerability that the company tracks. Meanwhile, Laura Sandys, a non- executive director of Energy Systems Cata- pult, cited her previous experience as MP for continued overleaf an area where the average wage was £16,500 a year. She said: "I think we have to stop using that term [vulnerability] because it means so many things. As a customer, I don't know if I'm fuel poor or financially poor, I just know I've got problems and I need one place to go to. So that means utilities work- ing with financial services, with the food sec- tor – it needs a total overhaul because there's lots of uncoordinated support and it's not clear if it's going to the right person." Innovation is crucial to developing new ways of supporting customers but again the term itself is perhaps unhelpful if it is not embedded within wider teams or aligned to core business functions and ultimately to the needs of the end user. There is also a risk of innovation stalling aŸer the pilot stage and failing to translate into business-as-usual. This was debated during a session on the role of regulation

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