Ofgem’s rushed metering reform a threat to customers, says Haven Power

Haven Power has urged Ofgem not to rush its metering reform for larger non-domestic customers, saying they will suffer from the tight timeframe.

The Ofgem consultation on moving non-domestic customers to half-hourly settlement as part of the roll out of smart metering closed on Monday, and could be approved by the regulator this coming February for implementation in April 2016.

But Haven Power, the customer-facing arm of generation giant Drax, says it is wary of introducing such a large-scale change over a relatively short period.

“Ofgem is ignoring the needs of many non-domestic customers in regard to the way it is considering the proposal to change [some non-domestic customers] to mandatory half-hourly settlement,” Haven Power said.

A spokesman for Ofgem told Utility Week that it will take into account the views of stakeholders in deciding the timeframe of the changes, adding that it has already extended the deadline from the original April 2015 cut off due to concerns expressed by some stakeholders.

The spokesman added that this new charging method would be in the interests of the customers.

“[It] would place stronger incentives on suppliers to encourage demand-side response among their customers by improving the accuracy of energy cost allocation,” he said.

“Demand-side response can deliver benefits for consumers through lower bills, stronger security of supply, and support connection of low-carbon forms of generation,” the spokesman added.

From April this year suppliers were obliged to provide non-domestic customers with advanced electricity meters capable of recording half-hourly consumption data so the users would be charged on actual use rather than estimates.

This move comes ahead of the planned roll-out of smart meters to domestic and smaller non-domestic customers, due to be completed by end of 2020.

Haven Power said that while it acknowledges the importance of the scheme, the timing could lead to “inevitable disruption” for its customers and a possible increase in costs which would have a knock-on impact for suppliers and agents.

Haven Power added that there could also be a “potential of creating a negative impression” of smart meters if customers have a bad experience being transferred onto half-hourly settlement.

“We support the need for better data on electricity demand and the ability to closely analyse a customer’s usage, and half hourly settlement would help with this”, said Haven Power’s head of supplier management Antony Badger.

“But at the moment it is clear that the customer is not being considered at the heart of these proposals and the way that they will be implemented,” he added.