Utility Week

22 | NOVEMBER 2022 | UTILITY WEEK Customers Roundtable Utilities must beware 'blind spots' of vulnerability A Utility Week roundtable gauged the views of vulnerability and affordability experts across the sector on how they will be supporting customers through a stark winter. V ulnerability leads across the utilities sector are preparing for a "crescendo" of poverty to hit this winter, despite extensive government support. At a roundtable hosted by Utility Week, in association with Mastercard, experts warned that time was running out to sharpen early warning indicators to capture emerging forms of vulnerability. Concern was also raised about the impact on small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) clients, who risked becom- ing "a problem child" for the industry. Attendees discussed ways of mitigating these issues, including upskilling and sup- porting frontline staff, and an acceptance that in many cases payment plans won't work and companies need to be flexible enough to accommodate the level of pay- ment a customer can afford. The conversation took place in Septem- ber, as the industry was digesting the details, and impact, of the Energy Price Guarantee. The attendees, taking in affordability and vulnerability job titles as well as heads of income, risk and financial customer care, agreed that while government support was welcome, it would not arrest a tough winter for many customers. A water company director said: "If you had asked me, even two months ago, were we seeing the impact, I probably would have said, we're hearing it in the calls, not just in my areas of collections but in our mainstream call centres. That trend has pro- gressed and it's quite clear now that there's something serious going on." One executive at a major energy retailer said: "We sometimes have to remind our- selves that our job is great. We get up every day and we help people – what is better than that? But when we were in a situation where people were facing a £5,000 bill, that's going beyond the point where we can solve the problem. We were throwing everything at the situation but that was starting to get a bit demoralising for our staff. "So the £2,500 [cost of energy for an aver- age household under the Energy Price Guar- antee] was a sigh of relief because at least we can help with that." However, there was general agreement from energy professionals around the table that, while generous, the Energy Price Guarantee remains a drop in the ocean of affordability. One said: "You cannot believe the level of poverty out there. This isn't just about pay- ing a utility bill, it's about being able to feed your family, get the bus to work, pay for a funeral for your loved one. People are being forced to make terrible choices and I think we are reaching a crescendo in terms of the level of poverty we are facing. And I don't see a plan to deal with that." Beyond the price freeze Over the past few months, against a back- drop of extreme uncertainty, utilities have had to prepare for all eventualities. The gov-

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