There’s a will among utility companies to help vulnerable customers, but the practical difficulties of doing so require a collaborative cross-industry approach. Alice Cooke reports.

As more customers than ever before find themselves in vulnerable situations or circumstances, utilities stand ready and willing to help. There are a host of solutions available from energy and water companies for those who require priority services in the event of an outage, help with affordability, or with communications. But getting that message across to the customers who need it, when they need it, is not always easy.

Neither is just a question of external communication. Behind the scenes the challenges of data sharing are becoming rapidly more complex with the advent of GDPR (the Europe-wide regulation on data protection).

In response to this critical situation, and to pan-utility demand for knowledge-­sharing and co-ordinated effort, the Utility Week Consumer Vulnerability Conference was held to look at the impact of universal credit and other socio-economic changes on affordability. It also explored the latest solutions in data sharing and highlighted best practice across the sector.

The live culmination of Utility Week’s ongoing campaign to raise awareness of this vital issue, the London event on 5 July was attended by chief finance officers, directors, heads and managers from across and beyond the utilities sector.
What was apparent throughout the day was the willingness of the entire industry to work together with a common aim, namely to improve the customer experience for those most in need of help. What was less clear was how the industry might best do this.

Public and private collaboration

It was discussed and agreed by all in attendance that there is currently a distinct line between the public and private sectors, and that more collaboration is needed between the two.

According to Chris Welby, head of regulation at Bristol Energy, this is because: “As a society we should all have a moral duty to work for the best interests of our customers.”

Furthermore, it was pointed out that this is clearly what the government expects, as was indicated in the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA’s) investigation of the energy sector between 2014 and 2016.

But there are numerable barriers in the way of this goodwill, one of which is the digital revolution, as was pointed out by Matt Rudling, director of customer services at UK Power Networks. He said: “We must make sure that as we enter the brave new world of digital transformation, we don’t create exclusivity. Digital exclusion must not become a huge issue – we can and should prevent that.”

Phil Marshall, deputy chief executive of the Consumer Council for Water, agreed with this sentiment during his talk at the event. He acknowledged that “all water companies are pursuing data sharing as a priority” but added that “the current assistance available to vulnerable customers really is a drop in the ocean”.

As to how to address this, Dan Alchin, head of retail policy and regulation at Energy UK, said: “What it really boils down to is having decent people on your workforce, to not only identify vulnerability effectively but also act accordingly and sympathetically, and all in a timely manner.”

A perfect storm

Steve Crabb, director of consumer vulnerability at British Gas, warned that with the way vulnerability is currently managed, there is a danger that vulnerable customers will be treated as a commodity, not real people.

“Right now there is no incentive for vulnerable customers to switch if they’re receiving the Warm Home Discount and the like, and that has to change,” he said.

He described the current state of affairs as “a perfect storm”, where the pace of digital change is increasing rapidly, regulators are shining a light on what the industry does, “and we need to deal with all of this and keep the train on the rails at all times”.

It is this, he argued, that makes the issue of how best to handle vulnerable customers all the more difficult to deal with. The conclusion of that discussion was that the industry must become and remain customer-centric in everything it does, even if the transparency this inevitably involves is sometimes to their detriment.

Speakers’ views:

Richard Brown, senior consultant, Huntswood

“It’s a figure that may make even the informed audience that makes up this room sit up and pay attention: 50 per cent of adults have showed characteristics of general vulnerability.”

Chris Welby, head of regulation, Bristol Energy

“The priority services register doesn’t deal with transient or temporary vulnerability, and we’re also seeing the state fall back from helping people, and that can be really distressing.”

Chris Fitch, vulnerability lead, Money Advice Trust

“If we wait for government before taking action we will just sit here twiddling our thumbs. We have to act ahead of that. We have to take our own agency as an ­industry.”

Matthew Upton, head of consumer and public services policy, Citizens Advice

“The roll out of universal credit has made things worse – if ­anything it makes more people vulnerable and it will make debt collection even harder.”

Amanda Phillips, priority services lead, United Utilities

“The current state of play is that there is a willingness to help, but no framework to turn that into tangible action.”

Matt Rudling, director of customer services, UK Power Networks

“It’s about keeping the lights on and keeping everyone safe, but you can always do more – we want to do more.”

Rachel Ryan-Crisp, affordability and vulnerability lead, Southern Water

“Vulnerability is now finally getting the profile it deserves, and as our understanding develops our reactions will become more sophisticated.”

Steve Crabb, director of Consumer Vulnerability, British Gas

“Vulnerability is about a series of risk factors. The onus is on us, not the customer – they are people, not just customers, and they need our help.”