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24 | 5Th - 11Th AUgUsT 2016 | UTILITY WEEK Customers Analysis T he British summer is finally upon us, and many people's thoughts will dri to memories of endless school holidays; trips to the beach; long, lazy days lounging about with a cool drink; the scorch- ing summer of '76; parched lawns; stuffy offices and sweltering commutes. For utilities, however, the summer months also bring with them a series of chal- lenges. Water companies must gear up for their peak demand week, while energy sup- pliers have to deal with plant being offline for repairs and maintenance as well as a higher than normal demand driven by the wider use of cooling systems. This presents utilities with the ideal opportunity to reach out with engagement campaigns and tap into the summer mood. This not only gives them the opportu- nity to mitigate and tackle some of the peak demand seen over July and August, but also to build a rapport with the consumer base. Demand can grow as the mercury rises The high summer period for electricity use is between 1 June and 31 August. This also tends to coincide with the greatest number of planned generator outages. This limits National Grid's wiggle room for balancing the system, especially since demand can increase, predominantly driven by the use of cooling systems (see graph). While peak and minimum demand levels fell to their lowest ever levels in 2015– 35.7GW and 18.1GW respectively – encouraging peo- ple to use less would help give the system that bit of extra room to manoeuvre. For water companies, they can typically see demand increase by 20-25 per cent dur- ing the summer months, and combined with low rainfall that puts additional pressures on their resources (see table). Encouraging people to use less, and use what they do smarter, will ease that burden. The summer holidays present people with a break in their busy work and school lives and are oen seen by families as a chance to reconnect with each other. It is the same for utilities and their cus- tomers. By offering efficiency tips, educa- tional programmes for children off school, gis, and essential safety messages to help people safely enjoy their surroundings, it is a chance for them to reconnect too. Trust in energy companies hit a low of 32 per cent in 2014, although it has since grown to 58 per cent in the Edelman trust barom- eter. Continuing to engage customers with positive messages is one way to help this develop and grow further. For water companies, trust levels have been steady at about 77 per cent over the past couple of years, but with Ofwat pursu- ing its trust and confidence agenda, now is no time for them to be complacent. Over these two pages, Utility Week looks Summer charm offensives The summer heat can present utilities with difficulties, but also with a golden opportunity to connect with customers. Mathew Beech explains how. Stay out of the water With soaring summer temperatures, the waters of reservoirs may seem like an attractive proposi- tion for people seeking to cool off. But water companies are aware of the dangers they pose and actively warn would-be swimmers of them, potentially saving them from death and creating further issues for the stretched water resource. As part of this safety crusade, United Utilities got TV doctor Sarah Jarvis (as seen on The One Show) to highlight the dangers. "Swimming in a reservoir might seem fun but it can, quite literally, be lethal. Even on a warm day, the deep water in reservoirs remains very cold, sending the human body into shock," she says. Anglian Water has taken a different approach: Snapchat. The social media platform is being used to "get serious" on water safety and spread the message to young people via the mobile app. Snapchatters are able to access a geofilter urging them to have fun, but stay safe and stay out of the water. Anglian Water media officer Sarah Dobson says: "We need to get the message across to young people that it might look appealing to dive into a calm-looking reservoir, but these are operational sites and can be extremely dangerous for even the strongest swimmers." at some of the engagement campaigns and work being done by utilities to exploit the spirit of summer and connect with their customers. Overall demand (distribution input) post uplift WrZ WaaD aDpW (ml/d) (ml/d) London 1,999.80 n/a SWOX 260.85 319.12 SWA 133.27 166.14 Kennet Valley 98.71 118.72 Guildord 44.29 61.56 Henley 12.82 19.05 Thames Water 2,549.74 n/a WAAD: weighted average average demand scenario; ADPW: average day peak week scenario; WRZ: water resource zone half-hOurly DemaND prOfile fOr high summer 40 36 32 20 24 20 16 Demand, GW Source: National Grid Summer Outlook 2016 1:00 2:00 3:00 4:00 5:00 6:00 7:00 8:00 9:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 2,2:00 2,3:00 2,4:00 Demand range Average demand Source: Thames Water