Coping with coronavirus: How companies are reacting

As the utilities sector braces for a period of uncertainty, companies are keen to reassure customers service will remain intact.

Centrica, Thames Water, Octopus, Southern Water, Eon, NPower, Bristol and Portsmouth Water set out their plans for ensuring frontline services continue and offering payment breaks for those affected.

Water

Thames has assured its customers water will not run out and there is no danger of spreading the coronavirus through water supplies while the industry is forced to put it resilience strategies to the test.

The company said there is a worry that increased use of wet wipes and kitchen roll could lead to more blockages and fatbergs, so reminded customers that these items should never be flushed, even if there is a shortage of toilet paper.

It said customer bills may see a “small impact” due to increased handwashing but stressed that it has a range of options to support any customer who is struggling to pay.

CCW – the voice for water consumers – has called on the water sector to step up customer service to reassure billpayers and offer added assistance for vulnerable customers.

Speaking about how the coronavirus could affect finances for billpayers, Andy White senior policy manager at CCW, said water companies should be “exhausting the wide range of options they have at their disposal” to help anyone impacted by the pandemic.

White said: “That should include offering support through payment breaks for those whose incomes have been temporarily impacted and flexibility over payment timings and methods for people who normally pay their bill in person but are having to self-isolate.”

CCW also expects companies to offer other assistance to customers such as signing vulnerable people up to priority services registers and communicating what extra help can be made available if a household’s circumstances change and extra help is needed due to illness or having to self-isolate.

Responding to any supply interruptions is “absolutely critical”, the watchdog said, adding that alternative supplies should be offered until such a problem is rectified.

There is a sense across the sector of maintaining business as usual through the uncertainty.

A Southern Water spokesperson told Utility Week: “Our teams will continue to operate sites, repair assets and continue with planned investments. Robust resilience plans are in place – our ways of working are changed but our mission remains the same.”

In the Southern catchment, contingency plans are in place to safeguard key operational sites as the company said it will do everything it can to maintain services while taking “all necessary steps” to protect workers providing those services.

At Bristol Water, the company has tested its systems over the past few weeks to ensure the business can keep running as smoothly as possible during this time. The company said its top priority is safety and keeping the water on for everyone. It said the nature of the work means many staff are unable to work remotely including operations, production and the teams that support these frontline jobs.

With advice changing daily from central government and Public Health England and as the UK follows the lead set by other countries’ responses, there are bound to be changes but frontline services will be prioritised.

Portsmouth Water’s chief executive Bob Taylor said the sector is reporting to the department for environment, food and rural affairs (Defra) and the regulatory bodies using the same model that was developed for Brexit.

As well encouraging staff to follow hygiene strategies and making arrangements for home working wherever possible, companies in the water sector are working to secure their supply chain, which is also linked to Brexit preparedness.

Having prepared for No Deal more than once, organisations have a ready, limited, supply of essential parts and chemicals so supply chain interruptions may not impact service as badly as they otherwise might have done.

Energy

Octopus Energy’s chief executive Greg Jackson said remote working had always been a core part of its business but added the company will be testing it at scale over the coming weeks. He also said the nature of the company helped it to alter working patterns quickly.

Jackson said teams and staff were prepared to quickly self-organise without a lot of “top down command and control”, which he said, “helped enable a very rapid transition, without the need for lots of planning and coordination”.

He said remote and homeworking was a relatively simple step to take so staff are able to work flexibly to keep services going. The company will work to altered schedules with options to split shifts with 50:50 on rotations, working part from home and part from the office or rotating between being home-based and office-based on a weekly basis.

To help financially, Octopus is making emergency credit available for prepayment and vulnerable customers affected by the virus.

Npower said it is working with government and regulators to take steps to maintain essential service and support for our customers and our employees. A spokesperson explained: “These details are still being developed but as a first step, we’re encouraging customers to register to manage their accounts online wherever possible.

“If people are having problems due to Covid-19, such as those in self isolation topping up pre-payment meters, we would urge them to get in touch with us as quickly as possible.  The energy industry plans to have more general advice on this subject for customers shortly.”

Eon has reassured customers it will not disconnect anyone during this period for non-payment of energy bills and has outlined repayment options available.

For example, for those who need to self-isolate and as a result lose income, Eon says it will come to a suitable agreement which includes the possibility of 30 days’ extra “breathing space” for making payments.

The energy giant warned its services will become impacted if staff members become ill or are forced to self-isolate, in that scenario Eon said its focus would be on taking care of vulnerable customers and those with prepayment meters.

Furthermore, it is cancelling non-essential appointments in customers’ homes (for example, smart metering appointments) for vulnerable customers and those aged over 70.

The supplier is asking its customers to use its website as their primary channel of support and, where possible, to register their online account via its app or through its website. From there customers can manage their account through its self-serve applications.

Eon has also pointed to its live chat service and social media sites, leaving phone lines free for customers who might need help the most.

The company is encouraging friends and family of vulnerable customers to help by making sure prepay meters are topped up if people are not able to get outside.

It warned that services involving a home visit may be postponed or cancelled to protect the health of staff and customers.

Vulnerable customers are the main priority for Centrica-owned British Gas also, which said: “We already take into account the position of some customers in regard to their ability to pay bills – particularly those who are vulnerable – and in these instances, having considered their personal circumstances, we may push back bill due dates or remove debt charges for late payment.”