ENW and UKPN join forces to combat fuel poverty

Two network operators from opposite ends of the country have signed a formal agreement to come together and tackle issues such as achieving net zero and supporting those in fuel poverty.

As part of their agreement, Electricity North West (ENW) and UK Power Networks (UKPN) have adopted each other’s approaches to helping customers.

The pair are now calling on the rest of the utilities sector to take the same approach in tackling common problems.

Specifically, the collaborative effort has seen:

• UKPN mirror ENW’s self-serve ‘flexibility revenue calculator’ to easily show potential participants what they could earn
• ENW replicate how UKPN can quickly provide customers with times and areas, if there is ever a need for emergency planned power cuts, nationally

The pair have also designed consistent ways to calculate benefits delivered to customers in fuel poverty, to enable ongoing benchmarking and improvements.

ENW’s customer service and connections director, Stephanie Trubshaw, said: “We’ve been talking openly, in the spirit of improving services for all customers and reducing the impact on their lives.

“The more we share and the more we collaborate means the more customers will benefit as we learn and develop even quicker. Collaboration, along with the application of a clear and consistent measurement and reporting framework, are key components to distribution network operators (DNOs) outperforming our regulatory commitments and driving greater value to customers.”

UKPN’s director of customer service and innovation, Ian Cameron, added: “There really has been a step change in collaboration between network operators this year. In these tough times where customers need support more than ever, it is critical we remove historic competition in areas where greater societal value can be unlocked faster by working as a team.

“We have worked most closely with Electricity North West, who share our appetite to collaborate at pace. Our shared view is that collaboration is not always easy and our work as a DNO community is far from done. However our vision is that by the end of 2028 the DNO community will have embedded best practice sharing and collaboration with one another as the default and everyone will be equal-effort contributors to this mission.”

Tackling fuel poverty will be discussed in more detail at Utility Week’s upcoming Consumer Vulnerability and Debt Conference on 7 November in Birmingham. To find out more and book your place, click here.