Customers

Editor's Picks

Can DSOs put the customer first?

Can DSOs put the customer first?

SSEN’s advisory board chair is challenging DSOs to rethink how close they are to customers, as we round up our recent series of reports produced with the network on the future of the operator.

1 year ago

‘Why is Boris Johnson on the PSR?’

1 year ago

Smart meter installations fall to lowest level in years

1 year ago

Trust in water sector hits all-time low

1 year ago

Local energy plans must be funded to ensure a just transition

1 year ago

Latest

Cambridge asks residents to lower PCC by 15 litres

Homes in Cambridge are being challenged to reduce their water use by 15 litres per person each day as part of a localised and targeted campaign from South Staffs and Cambridge Water company. It will highlight how much water consumers use and where savings can be made by small habit changes.

5 years ago

BEIS expected to release coronavirus advice to energy suppliers

Guidance outlining how energy suppliers should deal with customers during the coronavirus pandemic is to be published by the government imminently, Utility Week understands. The paper is expected to contain information from Citizens Advice as to what will be expected while the virus continues to affect both business and consumers.

5 years ago

Coping with coronavirus: How companies are reacting

As the utilities sector braces for a period of uncertainty, companies are keen to reassure customers that services will remain intact. Centrica, Eon, Npower, Octopus, Bristol, Portsmouth, Southern and Thames Water have told Utility Week how they are responding.

6 years ago

SPEN unveils RIIO2 customer engagement group

The group of industry professionals who will scrutinise SPEN's business plans have been revealed. Group chair and former Ofgem director John Howard will meet with the team monthly to oversee the plan, due to come into force in 2023.

6 years ago

Coronavirus: Regulator expects ‘proportionate’ debt response from suppliers

As the government issues stark advice on limiting movement and multiple industries warn they will struggle to survive, utilities have been reminded of their responsibilities to the most vulnerable in society. Ofgem has urged suppliers to be flexible over debt recovery and late payments, while Citizens Advice has said the sector needs to be prepared for a sharp increase in those struggling to pay their bills.

6 years ago

Macquarie signs first smart meter deal with challenger

Macquarie’s Specialised and Asset Finance business has signed a deal with So Energy to install second-generation (SMETS2) smart meter devices. It is the first such deal Macquarie has signed with a challenger energy supplier and the first time it is offering installation and management of meters, through its partnership with Morrison Data Services.

6 years ago

Gulf-owners Bayford acquires challenger brand

The Bayford Group, an investment company which owns Gulf Gas and Power, has acquired challenger brand E (Gas and Electricity), which has more than 300,000 customers and employs around 150 people.

6 years ago

Weekend press round-up: Utilities brace for coronavirus impact

As some workers are kept home by the coronavirus pandemic, EDF is considering offering those affected a reprieve from payments, while the energy industry grapples with the effects on electricity demand. Meanwhile, planning applications for renewable energy projects hit a new high – all in the latest round-up of the weekend’s papers.

6 years ago

Vattenfall made decision to ‘go big or go home’

Vattenfall ultimately did not gain the scale required to make its venture into the UK energy retail market worthwhile, industry experts have told Utility Week. The state-owned Swedish renewables giant sold more than 190,000 customers to EDF this week.

6 years ago

Electricity demand set to reduce if UK workforce self-isolates

National Grid ESO is predicting a reduction in electricity demand in the case of the coronavirus spread prompting a lockdown across the country. Its analysis was included in an update from the Energy Networks Association, in which it sought to reassure the public that contingency plans are in place to ensure services are unaffected by the virus.

6 years ago

Vulnerable customers ‘could suffer unintended consequences of price cap’

The introduction of the price cap is making it unsustainable for the major energy suppliers to serve their large numbers of vulnerable customers and remain profitable, it has been claimed. Chris Thewlis, chief operating officer of Npower, said a reduction in service levels was inevitable due to cost pressures as a direct result of the price cap.

6 years ago

Time to help the vulnerable

There were some thought-provoking debates at Utility Week’s Consumer Debt Conference. Chair, Denise Chevin, picks out her five takeaways, including the impact of zero-hour contracts, remote switching and the need to look at vulnerability in a more holistic way.

6 years ago

Together Energy bans face to face sales due to coronavirus

Scottish challenger energy brand Together Energy has suspended its door to door sales teams with immediate effect and is encouraging other retailers to do the same. The supplier says it hopes the suspension will be short-term.

6 years ago

DNOs plead for clarity on pandemic position

A senior figure at one of the country’s distribution network operators (DNO) has called for a clear message on how its workers will be treated if the coronavirus spread becomes a pandemic in the UK. They said Ofgem needed to confirm which licence conditions would be relaxed in such a situation and that a discussion was also necessary about social distancing rules for lifeline service providers.

6 years ago

Cox warns river pollution is next frontier of public outrage

Ofwat chairman Jonson Cox has claimed the water sector is falling “woefully short” on restoring the country’s rivers to a healthy state. Cox said that the issue could overtake leakage as the principal concern for the public about water company performance.

6 years ago

Wessex and Bristol downgraded following final determinations

6 years ago

Coronavirus fears to hit smart meter installations

6 years ago

Intelligent debt recovery

Mark Sussex, head of international, illion Digital Tech Solutions, discusses how smaller suppliers can differentiate themselves through the way they handle customers experiencing payment difficulties. Sussex argues that harnessing technology to assess affordability is key.

6 years ago

‘Environment Bill is a wasted opportunity’

6 years ago

Castle acquires Affinity for Business

6 years ago

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