Utility Week

Customers UTILITY WEEK | 13TH - 19TH APRIL 2018 | 27 Offering "industry-first" friction- less switching, smart energy switching technology provider Labrador has launched the Lab- rador Retriever across the UK. The device is free to use and plugs into household broadband routers, automatically switching customers whenever a cheaper tariff becomes available. Each Labrador Retriever com- municates with a household's ENERGY Labrador launches service that will automatically switch tariffs smart meter to determine real- time energy usage and claims to offer more reliable data to make recommendations and automati- cally switch accounts. The idea is that the household could gain the economic benefits of switch- ing without any of the hassle. Jane Lucy, Labrador founder and chief executive, said: "The technology is unique in that it's the only way to get granular data from smart meters in real time. There are other routes to data through things like the Data Communications Company … but they don't provide access to the most granular data and access is not in real time." The company claims to have signed up nearly 1,000 custom- ers since its so launch, but forecasts "exponential growth" over the next five years, pointing This week British Gas to leave some on 'dead' SVT Customers will be encouraged to switch but it won't be automatic, under temporary derogation Ofgem has granted British Gas a temporary derogation to allow it to leave customers on a "dead" standard variable tariff (SVT). The decision means that for a limited period the supplier can stop customers moving on to its SVT without ending it for those who are already signed up. The derogation will remain in force until 30 June 2019, unless revoked or altered by the regulator. In November last year, British Gas owner Centrica revealed plans to end the supplier's SVT in a bid to increase consumer engagement. Speaking to reporters at the time, Centrica chief executive Iain Conn said beginning in April, custom- ers who did not select one of its other deals when their existing contract finished would be moved on to a new 12-month fixed-price default tariff. To motivate customers to actively choose the best available tariff, Conn said the default tariff would be priced to be "unattractive but not punitive". According to Ofgem's decision document, British Gas has not committed to unilaterally moving SVT customers on to the new default tariff but will push them to do so, contacting them at least twice a year to encourage them to switch voluntarily. Once the derogation ends, British Gas's licence stipulates that it has 49 days to switch customers on the "dead" SVT tariff on to a "live evergreen" tariff. In September last year, Eon became the first big six supplier to announce it was axing its SVT, followed closely by Scottish Power. However, Cooperative Energy was the first big name supplier to actually end its SVT, in February. TG ENERGY SSE-Innogy 'looking to home services' The newly appointed chief executive of the proposed SSE- Innogy retail tie-up has hinted that the merged company will look beyond retail and offer home services products. Speaking last week, Katie Bickerstaffe – currently chief executive of the UK and Ireland division of Dixons Carphone – said: "I think there are opportu- nities … not just within energy but within other things that matter to customers within their home. "And with the infrastructure that this retail business has, I think there's just a massive opportunity for us to do that – and be trusted by customers to do that – and that's really exciting." She conceded that the cur- rent businesses might not be the "darling of anybody at the moment", but said she relished the challenge. See analysis, p15 ENERGY CA questions small suppliers' service The customer service standard of some small energy suppli- ers "raises serious questions" and is further evidence why Ofgem needs to "get tougher on licensing", according to Citizens Advice. The consumer advocate's latest energy star rating table, which covers 99 per cent of the market by customer numbers, placed Economy Energy bottom for the third consecutive quarter, with a score of 1.2 stars out of 5. Iresa Energy, Avro Energy, Spark Energy and Extra Energy were all near the bottom too, although So Energy came top of the table with a score of 4.7 stars, followed by Bulb Energy and Octopus Energy. Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said: "The performance of some smaller energy suppliers raises serious questions for the companies themselves and shows why Ofgem needs to get tougher on licensing." An Ofgem spokesperson said: "In Ofgem's forward work plan we've said we'll review our approach to awarding supply licences in the next year, to ensure the right protections are in place against poor customer service and financial instability." ENERGY Ofgem considers price cap headroom Ofgem has released its third working paper on the proposed price cap. It details the regula- tor's thoughts on a "headroom allowance", which it describes as "an amount above the effi- cient level of costs, which could be used to enable competition to co-exist with the cap". The proposed cap will be time limited and could be removed in 2020 if a review finds it is no longer required. Conn: default tariff replaces SVT towards a potential audience of ten million UK homes that currently have a smart meter installed. Prior to its so launch in Sep- tember last year, Labrador raised around £1.2 million from more than 30 individual investors, and then raised a further £890,000 via crowdfunding platform Crowdcube in exchange for 13.57 per cent equity.

• Cover