Utility Week

Customers This week Developer service top-rankers slip back Portsmouth Water and Northumbrian Water lose their top spots in latest performance tables Portsmouth Water has slipped from rst to third for water supply, and Northumbrian from rst to sixth for sewerage, in the latest developer services leaguetable. Portsmouth scored 99.76 per cent for water supply, down from 100 per cent last quarter. It was beaten to the top spot by South- ern Water (99.89 per cent) and Sutton and East Surrey Water (99.87 per cent). Northumbrian Water scored 99.70 per cent for sewer- age, compared with 100 per cent last quarter. United Utilities was top with 99.89 per cent, then Yorkshire Water (99.80 per cent) and Welsh Water (99.79 per cent). A‰ nity Water came bottom for water supply services, with 87.99 per cent – a deterioration on last quarter. For sewerage services Wessex Water performed worst, with a score of 98.11 per cent – a marginal fall on last quarter. Overall levels of service performance remained at 98per cent for water supply and 99 per cent for sewer- age for July to September 2016. Water UK said the online system has now been adapted to provide actual volumes of activity, allowing users to analyse the data and compare individual com- panies' performance better. "Although it is positive to see this improvement across individual metrics of performance, the water industry is committed to improving further," the rep- resentative group added. "As such, further changes to the reporting system are being reviewed in response to comments from a range of stakeholders." LV WATER Firms target labels in wet wipes war UK water rms have written to Trading Standards to complain about misleading labelling of wet wipes and other sanitary products as "— ushable". It forms part of wider e˜ orts by the water sector and envi- ronmental bodies to tackle the root causes of sewer — ooding. A statement signed by 247 compa- nies in 18 countries recommends giving consumers clear and unambiguous product disposal information. In the UK alone, water companies estimate it costs £88 million a year to unblock sewers. More than half of all blockages are exacerbated by suppos- edly — ushable wipes and other hygiene products. Water UK director of environ- ment Sarah Mukherjee said: "Manufacturers need to take action to stop calling wet wipes '— ushable' and help prevent sewer — ooding." GAS Smart meter rollout blows CO chance The Gas Industry Safety Group (GISG) has said it is "particularly disappointed" that the "once in a lifetime opportunity" to improve the safety of custom- ers o˜ ered by the smart meter rollout is being wasted. While all gas appliances have to be tested a¢ er installation of a smart meter to ensure they are not emitting unsafe levels of carbon monoxide, installers do not have to carry CO atmosphere monitors. Most CO deaths in the UK are the result of incomplete combus- tion and CO production from incorrectly tted appliances. GISG chair Chris Bielby said: "There are 1.1 million illegal installations per annum and it is paramount for customer safety that these are located and attended to." ENERGY Ofgem puts in credit balance safety net Ofgem is to take action to protect consumers' credit balances if a supplier goes out of business. The existing "supplier of last resort" regime already guaran- tees the continuation of energy supply if a provider becomes insolvent, but customers are unlikely to get any money back if their account is in credit. Ofgem's senior partner for consumers and competi- tion Rachel Fletcher said: "It's important that people are fully protected in the unlikely event a supplier goes out of business." Ofgem would allow replace- ment suppliers to recoup the cost of reimbursing credit balances through an industry levy spread across all energy customers. Construction: service performance overall steady I am the customer Alex Neill "This is the last chance saloon for the industry" You might assume that the Com- petition and Markets Authority (CMA) investigation, which wrapped up in June, would have prompted the energy companies into action. Sadly, you have to ask what has changed since then? An astonishing 16 million people – that's over half (58 per cent) of energy customers – are stuck on standard variable tari˜ s (SVT) with a 'big six' provider, the default and usually most expensive tari˜ . stuck on poor value deals to move, and to tell us, and their customers, their plans. This is the last chance saloon for the energy industry. A¢ er a two-year inquiry, the energy companies must prove they are taking action to genuinely engage with their customers stuck on the worst deals. The government and the regulator must be ready to act if energy companies fail to deliver. Alex Neill, managing director, Home & Legal Services, Which? The CMA has said that more must be done to get energy companies to engage with these customers. Yet, new Which? research has found that three-quarters (74 per cent) of people said they have not been contacted by their supplier about changing their tari˜ in the four months since the inquiry was completed. Which? also found that nearly nine in ten (86 per cent) people said they think it is the energy companies' responsibility to help customers better under- stand their energy usage. That's why Which? is calling on all energy companies to nd new ways of getting customers 24 | 4TH - 10TH NOVEMBER 2016 | UTILITY WEEK

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