Utility Week

18 | 22ND - 28TH JUNE 2018 | UTILITY WEEK Operations & Assets Utility Week Awards winner case study Community Initiative of the Year Award winner: Northern Gas Networks • Title of project/initiative: Warm Hubs • Annual company turnover: £420 million • Number of directly employed staff: 1,462 Entry criteria: • Quality of entry, clear, evidence-based • Genuine business commitment to initiative • Clear goals set for the project that were met or exceeded • Impact of the initiative on the com- munity • Evidence of the ongoing learnings for the business's ongoing commitment to the community The Utility Week Awards are held in asso- ciation with CGI and Capgemini. The 2018 Utility Week Awards will be opening soon. Sponsorship opportunities are available – contact Utility Week busi- ness development manager Ben Ham- mond on benhammond@fav-house.com or 01342 332116 for more information. W arm Hubs is a community project to help residents who face fuel pov- erty, isolation and loneliness. The hubs provide warm, friendly places, staffed by volunteers, where vulnerable residents – usually in areas off the gas grid – can go to socialise, get warm, have a hot meal and access information, advice and referrals to relevant support. Northern Gas Networks (NGN), the north of England's gas distributor, worked with Community Action Northumberland (CAN) to establish 20 hubs across rural Northum- berland in a wide range of venues including church and village halls, community centres, a café, a pub and a fish and chip shop. Aer the success of this project, the partnership is now trialling Warm Hubs in an urban environment and, specifically, a deprived area of Newcastle. The scale of the initiative NGN works in some of the most economi- cally deprived parts of England, and says it is committed to helping vulnerable residents in these communities. In just three years, the gas distributor has established 20 hubs across Northum- berland; launched a pilot hub in Newcastle and is working with other gas distributors to encourage them to replicate the model in other parts of the UK. SGN, for example, has committed to opening a hub in Winchester. The Northumberland hubs are now finan- cially self-sufficient and run independently by volunteers. What was the target group? Vulnerable, fuel-poor customers. More than 1,000 vulnerable customers now regu- larly attend their local Warm Hub in North- umberland. Transport is provided for those with limited access. Residents benefit from a hot meal, a sociable environment, and advice about issues such as energy effi- ciency, energy switching, smart meters and carbon monoxide (CO) signs and symptoms. An estimated £1.2 million has been saved from household energy bills through energy saving and switching advice. Community groups and venues. Venues that sign up as Warm Hubs get a grant to bring them up to the required standard. This has enabled these venues to widen their offer to other service users, improve their carbon footprint, or even ensured their survival. Twelve venues in Northumberland have received energy audits, four have had new kitchens installed, three have had air source heat pumps fitted, three have had LED lights fitted, two have launched lending libraries and two have had disabled toilets fitted. Volunteers. More than 200 volunteers run the Warm Hubs. They have received train- ing that covers dementia awareness, food hygiene, first aid and CO awareness. Warm Hubs has created new ways of tackling fuel poverty, as well as educating local communities on gas safety and the dangers of carbon monoxide A hub to engage customers Northern Gas Networks won the 2017 Utility Week Community Initiative of the Year Award. Here, we take a detailed look at its Warm Hubs initiative and what it takes to be an award winner.

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