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Sponsored report UTILITY WEEK | 7TH - 13TH APRIL 2017 | 23 UK POWER NETWORKS' VULNERABLE CUSTOMERS EMERGENCY PACK Launched in January 2017, the emergency pack was designed to help vulnerable customers be better prepared when faced with a power cut. The pack, which contains items including a plug-in the-wall torch that automatically switches on when there is a power cut, a glow stick and storage bottle for vital personal and medical information in the event of an emergency, was designed aer a series of focus groups held with a selection UK Power Networks' customers. UKPN director of strategy Suleman Alli says the pack is an exam- ple of how innovation does not have to involve technological break- throughs. "We had a focus group and co-designed an emergency pack with them," he explains. "That's got nothing to do with technology but it's still an innovation. "In consumer technology, the big phrase is co-design; we've just taken that approach and applied it in other areas of our service." The hope is that by involving vulnerable customers in the design process, more will make use of the pack and it will be a more effective tool when the lights do go off. Alongside the pack, UKPN has introduced a free priority services register for customers who may need additional support in a power. This could include older or disabled people, customers with dementia, or families with young children. Customers on the register can access extra services including a 24-hour priority phone number, a dedicated team who will update them during power cuts, tailored support such as home visits and hot meals where appropriate. In some circumstances, registered customers will receive a free overnight hotel stay, including transport. save, then the poorer customers will be even less likely to." Not all vulnerable customers are neces- sarily poorer, however. And it's moving away from treating any group as a homogenous mass which will be crucial to engaging more effectively with them. Indeed, technology and its ability to capture more and more data about customers as individuals could be key to achieving truly customer-led innovation that leads to bespoke – and therefore better – experiences. "Customers are not some amorphous group, all with the same needs," cautions Suleman Alli, director of strategy at UK Power Networks. "They are very diverse so you have to really know and understand them and what their needs are from a distri- bution point of view." Keeping it simple For an energy distributor, oen these needs can be quite simple, says Alli. Technol- ogy and technological innovation should therefore be used to simplify processes for customers. "You shouldn't be thinking about technol- ogy first; in the case of supply interruption and fault, for example, technology should be used to support," explains Alli. "We have people that interact with us because their lights have gone off. They want information really quickly and a com- mitment from us on when their supply will come back on. That type of customer doesn't want to have a laborious process or interac- tion with us. They want to tap into Google: 'power cut' and their postcode." Alli believes the utilities sector can learn from the retail sector when it comes to designing customer experiences: "We're just taking the best user experiences and think- Brought to you in association with "Customers are not some amorphous group, all with the same needs. They are very diverse so you have to really know and understand them and what their needs are from a distribution point of view." Suleman Alli, director of Strategy at UK Power Networks