Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | MARCH 2023 | 39 Pan-utility we see this continuing to be a theme as we look ahead to the next election and the pos- sible administration we might have in two years'time." The attendee expressed their concern that this political uncertainty will feed into a broader dearth of joined-up strategic planning for the future of utilities. From an energy sector perspective, they said, this disjointed approach will have a pervasive impact on generation, networks, the retail market and the future of competition. They added: "It is a real worry for us that there is a lack of long-term, strategic, joined-up plan- ning that you need to have con• dence that net zero is achievable." As the debate continued, concerns were raised about the cost of achieving net zero. In light of the cost of living crisis, there is a risk that "those who can least a€ ord it will be required to subsidise the rest". Customers rst Throughout the roundtable event, the need to protect customers and provide the best possible service remained at the forefront of the discussion. However, there was acknowl- edgement that meeting increased customer needs is placing mounting pressure on front- line sta€ . From examples of call centre teams handling highly distressing calls to incidents of verbal abuse endured by • eld force sta€ , the strain on employees is palpable. "The situation for large operational work- forces is really challenging," admitted one customer care director. "If I look at my imme- diate operations, the number of attempted suicides I have had is signi• cantly higher than it was 12 months ago. Mental health absence is also higher. "We are massively investing in this but it still does not fully mitigate the issue we have with the changes in customer behav- iour, probably the lack of respect and just the sheer emotional turmoil." Taking a long-term view, attendees voiced concerns that the pressure on sta€ will ulti- mately drive many people away from the sec- tor, which will exacerbate the skills shortage. As well as investing in mental health and wellbeing support for sta€ , many companies are also focused on ensuring internal com- munication is improved. Maintaining clear and transparent relationships among sta€ is important, especially in a post-pandemic world with remote workingis commonplace. One attendee noted that clear and swi‰ external communication is also critical, par- ticularly in response to a rise in misinforma- tion, o‰ en propagated by social media. "We added misinformation to our risk register last year. There is already so much heat around utilities, there only needs to be the slightest thing and suddenly it catches like wild• re," they said. "It can be challeng- ing, particularly for networks because we are not as well known as some of the retailers. It can be quite diŠ cult just trying to explain who we are and what we are doing when you are responding to misinformation." One attendee recounted an example of a misleading report about a cyber-attack on their water company which appeared in the press. Despite the claims being untrue, the incident led to extensive disruption for the business. "We've now added 'actual' and 'perceived' risks in relation to resilience over- all," they said. Contributors to the 2022 Risk Report iden- ti• ed cyber-security as one of the biggest challenges for utilities. As Utility Week and Marsh embark on this year's report, there will be a keen focus on how events around the industry are causing key risks – both actual and perceived – to evolve and to what extent the relationship between risks, including their propensity to add velocity to one another, is understood. Jane Gray, content director in association with Comment T he risks highlighted at the roundtable were varied and wide reaching. Topics included: funding challenges; cyber-threats; cross-sector col- laboration; climate challenge; managing public perception of the sector; resilience; and employee mental health and wellbeing. Attendees were also interested in companies' ability to mitigate these risks and how the media reports on them. Balancing the challenges to maintain and deliver services against lower allowances continues to be diŠ cult. The current economic environment only increases the diŠ culty of this. Furthermore, current neg- ative public opinion toward the sector has manifested through the rising cost of bills, level of shareholder returns, and – for water utilities – the environ- mental issues associated with storm over– ows. Internally, the mental health and wellbeing of operational and customer contact centre sta€ is currently being examined. Customer ser- vice agents are at the frontline, dealing with various customer diŠ culties, while o‰ en facing similar challenges themselves. Consequently, across the sector, companies are assessing their employee support programmes. Discussions exposed the requirement for interconnectiv- ity between utilities managing both interdependency risks and risk velocity. For exam- ple, heightened planning for scenarios of multiple risks con- verging requires more thought and collaboration. Cross-sector scenarios, impacting multiple utilities, should be consid- ered to test responses crisis response. Scenarios such as a large storm are reliable tests. This can cause widespread disruption to supply. In the event of a loss of supply, utili- ties' ability to restore supply to customers and businesses will be heavily scrutinised. It is essential the industry continues to move forward. The pandemic revealed that utility must remain resilient when entrenched working practices have to swi‰ ly adapt to unique challenges. Ostensibly, it is challenging for utilities to manage costs within their • xed revenue allowances. The vola- tile geopolitical and economic backdrop further complicates this. Utilities delivering vital services for customers, while simultaneously satiating stake- holders, must balance risks with continued operational improvements. How utilities respond and manage these risks is critical to future success. It will be interesting to see how these risks are rated on their sever- ity and likelihood in the 2023 Risk Survey. Comparison to the 2022 edition results will provide interesting analysis; the • ndings from which will be available in April. Carl Ratcli e, industry practice leader; Ben Brennan, client relationship leader, Marsh "How utilities respond and manage these risks is critical to success" these risks is critical to success"

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