Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | 6TH - 12TH APRIL 2018 | 27 Customers Southampton City Council will partner with Robin Hood Energy to launch a not-for-profit energy brand this summer. The company, Citizen Energy, plans to offer "fairly priced" gas and electricity to residents, while reinvesting profits into local energy-efficiency initiatives. The council will also lead a project that will see up to 13 other local authorities, yet to be ENERGY Southampton Council and Robin Hood Energy to launch supplier revealed, using the brand to sell gas and electricity to residents. Councillor Christopher Hammond, cabinet member for sustainable living, said: "As a council, we are committed to improving the health and quality of life for our residents, particu- larly the most vulnerable, 10,000 of whom are thought to be living in fuel poverty." He said Citizen Energy will provide a "real alternative" to the big energy companies. "We will not be generating profits for shareholders and so we can pass those savings on to our customers. The name of the brand was chosen following consultation with local residents and reflects our approach to putting people at the centre of everything we do," he said. Robin Hood Energy was cho- This week Toto transfers prepay customers to Utilita Citizens Advice criticises short notice of transfer for thousands of prepayment meter customers Toto Energy will transfer thousands of its customers on prepayment meters to Utilita Energy next month. The energy supplier said it has been "pushing hard" to improve all aspects of its busi- ness and has made the decision for the "good" of customers. It said the move will ensure customers who are being switched are "well looked aer" and will "immediately" make the company better placed to manage resources and service remaining cus- tomers "in the way they deserve". Toto emailed affected customers on 25 March to notify them about the change, which is expected to take place on 10 April. But its handling of the transfer was criti- cised by Citizens Advice, which described the company's communication to customers as "appalling". Customers also received an email from Utilita on the same day, welcoming them to "one of Britain's fastest- growing energy suppliers". Victoria MacGregor, director of energy at Citizens Advice, said: "Toto Energy has done an appalling job of communicating this change to its customers. "We think customers should have been given advance notice of the transfer, giving them the opportu- nity to decide whether to transfer automatically to Utilita or switch to another supplier." Toto said: "Utilita have been market leading in their service for smart prepayment customers." Ofgem said it will hold both companies to account to ensure customers "do not lose out by being put on a worse tariff or experiencing worse customer service". Utilita Energy said it will honour Toto Energy custom- ers' current tariff until at least 30 June." KP WATER Biggest companies attract most gripes Eight out of ten complaints in the newly opened non-house- hold water market are about one of the three biggest companies, according to the Consumer Council for Water (CCWater). Speaking at the Future Retail #1 conference, Phil Marshall, the deputy chief executive of CCWater, revealed that 80 per cent of complaints to date related to Castle Water, Water Plus, or Anglian Water Busi- ness (now part of Wave), which between them control 60 per cent of the market. Complaints about non-house- hold water retail have soared since market opening – from 730 in 2016 to 2,270 in 2017. Marshall said CCWater had been expecting an uptick in complaints in the early months of the market as consumer awareness grew and teething issues were ironed out but admitted: "They have gone up quite significantly more than we might have anticipated." However, Marshall said fewer complaints in the rest of the market suggest the problems are not systemic but specific to indi- vidual retailers and as such can be, and are being, resolved. He acknowledged that Castle Water and Water Plus have had specific problems that are being addressed. CCWater publicly called on Castle Water to address its performance on complaints last month, and the company said it was doing so. WATER Crypto incident costs Bristol £100k Bristol Water has paid out more than £100,000 in compensation to customers who experienced supply interruptions aer the discovery of cryptosporidium at its Clevedon treatment works in January. The treatment works is still out of service while investiga- tions into the incident continue. The parasite was discovered in a raw water sample from a natural well in Clevedon. Bristol Water issued a boil water notice as a precaution to 7,000 proper- ties and, as part of its customer promise, has "proactively" paid out a total of £109,090. It said it has compensated the "whole population" in the affected postcodes because customers may have been affected by the boil notice. Parts of Clevedon previously supplied by the treatment works are being supplied with water from two other treatment works. Independent consultants are carrying out an investigation, including camera surveys of the Clevedon well to check its integ- rity. The company is waiting for the report on the investigation, while the Drinking Water Inspec- torate is continuing its investiga- tion into the incident. A spokesperson for Bristol Water said the company will not put the treatment works back into service until its "absolutely confident" there will be no risk to public health. Toto says customers will be 'well looked after' sen as the energy supplier for Citizen Energy aer a procure- ment process. Southampton Council said the company's "goals and ethos" match those of the council. Robin Hood Energy, which was launched by Nottingham City Council in September 2015, recently partnered with West Sussex County Council to launch Your Energy Sussex.

• Cover