Utility Week

26 | APRIL 2023 | UTILITY WEEK Customers machine. "These insights are delivered via an increasing variety of channels, including in-home displays, emails and our app," says Lasseter. The service is currently available to "a few thousand" customers, but the inten- tion is to roll it out to hundreds of thousands of customers over the next 12 months. "With the majority of our customers in lower income households, we look at multi- ple models such as education de• cit, nudge and peer-to-peer to ensure customers have all the tools and information they need to hand to understand where their energy is going," Lasseter adds. Archie Lasseter will speak about the science of behaviour change on the Customers and Teams Challenge stage at Utility Week Live on 17 May. The concept of "gami• cation", which involves applying game mechanics and prin- ciples to non-game contexts, is a proven way to motivate and engage users. Utilita has integrated this feature into the My Utilita smartphone app to rate users, from one to • ve stars, on how well they save energy com- pared to a benchmark for the type of prop- erty they live in. It then provides hints and tips on how to improve their rating. Support network At a time when the pool of people consid- ered vulnerable is increasing – a 2022 study by the Financial Conduct Authority found 15% of the population identi• ed themselves as having at least one characteristic of vul- nerability – utilities have an even greater responsibility to identify customers who are struggling and ensure they provide services to meet those needs. Recent research highlights the scale of the challenge at hand. A survey by not-for-pro• t Vulnerability Registration Service (VRS) found that 82% of vulnerable people had not been proactively asked by their utility provider if they were vulnerable. In addition, analysis by Ofgem last year, of how energy suppliers manage customers in vulnerable situations, identi• ed the need for clearer pol- icies and procedures to identify customers in a vulnerable situation and to ensure that customer-facing sta' are trained to identify and support them. National Grid ESO's Kerr is hopeful that that deeper exploration of consumer experi- ences of participating in the DFS this winter should help shape a fairer energy system in the future. "Understanding di' erent energy consumers, their needs, ability, and willing- ness to participate in a ™ exible energy sys- tem, will help us understand how they will respond to di' erent propositions from provid- ers and inform how we – as an energy indus- try – design inclusive markets," hešstates. Increasing the volume and utilisation of data on a wide range of consumer experi- ences and how di' erent forms of vulner- ability impact these is a must for Carolyn Delehanty, vulnerable customer experience coach at Delehanty Consulting. To support meaningful progress on the improvement of services for vulnerable people, she is keen to see data being opened up and shared ™ uidly between interested parties. She also suggests that utilities need to start viewing vulner- ability data through di' erent lenses to get a rounded view of vulnerability. To date, she suggests, data sharing has been focused on physical need. For example, if a person requires an oxygen machine the energy company needs to know this to pro- vide a generator in the event of an outage. But there are "huge gaps" around • nancial vulnerability, mental health, people with extra cognitive needs or with low reading ability. "Utilities need to know who these people are so that they can better serve their needs," she says. Carolyn Delahunty will speak about supporting customers through times of crisis on the Customers and Teams Challenge stage at Utility Week Live on 17 May. The utilities sector has talked for sev- eral years about the need for a shared pri- ority services register containing details on vulnerable customers from organisa- tions ranging from utilities to government departments, councils, health services and charities. But progress has been held up by concerns over consent to share data and the interoperability of information, and accord- ing to Delehanty, PSR data doesn't go far or deep enough to enable • rms to respond to customers' needs. Keen to overcome these barriers, she recently teamed up with several CEOs of large water and energy • rms to call for the creation of a new, or enhanced, register for shared data, similar in scope to the Vulner- ability Registration Service. In a joint letter, sent to the Cabinet OŸ ce and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport they asked the government to give energy, water and • nancial services • rms and local authorities "absolute con- • dence" in what they are permitted to do under data-sharing rules and to Instruct local authorities to share their data on vul- nerable people. A more joined-up approach to under- standing vulnerable customers is another important strand in the sector's e' orts to better engage with the public, and modify behaviours at a time of unprecedented trans- formation and change. Understanding di' erent energy consum- ers, their needs, abilities, and willingness to participate in a ™ exible energy system will help us understand how they will respond to di' erent propositions from providers and inform how we (as an energy industry) design inclusive markets. Stephen Cousins, contributing editor Analysis continued from previous page "Organisations in the water sector really need to work together to understand what motivates people to change the way they do things." Ana-Maria Millan, policy manager, CCW "Organisations in the water sector really need to work together to understand what motivates people to change the way they do things." Ana-Maria Millan "Utilities need to know who these people are so that they can better serve theirneeds." Carolyn Delehanty, vulnerable customer experience coach, Delehanty Consulting "Utilities need to know who these people are so that they can better serve theirneeds." , vulnerable customer experience coach, Delehanty Consulting 1617 MAY, NEC, BIRMINGHAM See this content brought to life at Utility Week Live. Register free at: utilityweeklive.co.uk

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