UKPN and Thames to roll out shared PSR

UK Power Networks (UKPN) and Thames Water are planning to expand their shared priority services register (PSR) scheme by bringing other organisations into the partnership.

However, a vulnerability expert has warned that current PSRs are “coming to the end of their working life” and that a new system should created.

UKPN and Thames announced in July that they were sharing data on vulnerability. At Utility Week’s Consumer Vulnerability & Debt conference last week they explained how they were now opening  up their Essential Sharing Network to more water companies and local authorities.

Giulia Privitera, social sustainability strategy and programme manager at UKPN, told the conference “there’s been a lot of discussion across the industry on how this can be done but we believe it’s now time for action”, adding: “We need first movers to demonstrate how this can be done step by step.”

Olivia Worthington, partnerships lead at Thames Water, explained that the two companies had worked with Auriga Services to develop technology that “allows the lawful, secure and, importantly, confidential transfer of priority services data”.

She added: “Now we have developed the Essential Sharing Network, we are pleased to say that many others are interested. We’re talking about London boroughs, utilities, the vulnerability registration service and fire brigades across our region and nationally. They can see how it adds value to their own customers and want to work together so we’re at a really important point now.

“This is maturing into a product the industry can own. It’s not Thames Water’s, we need to build this for the industry to own, to give that value back. We’d like to develop it alongside new industry standards as they come on board.”

She also pointed to evidence of customer satisfaction, with 97 per cent of those who had shared their data saying they were happy to have done so.

Privitera stressed that although the technology had proved successful “we still don’t have the architecture for a full solution” and said the important thing was to “start simple” and learn lessons to further develop solutions.

She added: “The next logical step is to start proving this at a reginal level and we are engaging with different water companies and working with Thames to look at this Essential Sharing Network and how it can work in London.”

Speaking on the same panel, Duncan McCombie, customer engagement group chair for Western Power Distribution, warned that utilities should not stray too far from their core responsibilities.

He said: “Utilities are not software houses, they are providing a service to customers. There seems to be a move towards becoming software houses. Well, that’s not your job and that’s where the regulator should step in and say, stop, you don’t need to be doing that and customers don’t need to be paying for it. You need to deliver the service and allow other organisations to come in, as we’ve seen in open banking, and do that.”

Speaking in a session later in the day Steve Crabb, who chairs Energy UK’s Vulnerability Commitment, but who was speaking in a personal capacity, said: “Collaboration is essential but more broadly the existing PSRs are coming to the end of their working life.

“In energy they were constructed largely to benefit people who would go off supply as a result of energy failures. It feels like a 1970s or 80s way of looking at things.

“I’ve advocated for a long time now that we should be creating a new form of PSR into which people can opt in that is needs based and reflects the actual service needs people have got, whether its paper billing or accessibility, sight loss, hearing loss. That’s what the supplier needs to understand, it’s not the exact condition that drives the service need. And there should be a ‘tell it once’ approach.”