Utility Week Awards winner case study: Northern Gas Networks’ Warm Hubs Initiative

Northern Gas Networks won the 2017 Utility Week Community Initiative of the Year Award for its Warm Hubs initiative. As part of a series of case studies looking at the Award winners, Utility Week explores the initiative in detail.

Warm Hubs is a community project to help residents facing fuel poverty, isolation and loneliness. The hubs provide warm, friendly places, staffed by volunteers, where vulnerable residents – usually in areas off the gas grid – can go to socialise, get warm, have a hot meal and access information, advice and referrals to relevant support.

Northern Gas Networks (NGN), the North of England’s gas distributor, worked with Community Action Northumberland to establish 20 hubs across rural Northumberland, in a wide range of venues, including church and village halls, community centres, a café, a pub and a fish and chip shop.

Following the success of this project, the partnership is now trialling Warm Hubs in an urban environment and, specifically, a deprived area of Newcastle.

WHAT WAS THE SCALE OF THE INITIATIVE?

NGN works in some of the most economically deprived parts of England, and says it is committed to helping vulnerable residents in these communities.

In just three years, the gas distributor has established 20 hubs across Northumberland; launched a pilot hub in Newcastle and is working with other gas distributors to encourage them to replicate the model in other parts of the UK. SGN, for example, has committed to opening a hub in Winchester.

The Northumberland hubs are now financially self-sufficient and run independently by volunteers.

WHAT WAS THE TARGET GROUP?

Vulnerable, fuel-poor customers: More than 1,000 vulnerable customers now regularly attend their local Warm Hub in Northumberland. Transport is provided for those with limited access.

Residents benefit from a hot meal, a sociable environment, and advice around issues such as energy efficiency, energy switching, smart meters and carbon monoxide (CO) signs and symptoms.

An estimated £1.2 million has been saved from household energy bills through energy saving and switching advice.

Community groups and venues: Venues that sign up as Warm Hubs benefit from a grant to bring them up to the required standard. This has enabled these venues to widen their offer to other service users, improve their carbon footprint, and in some cases, ensured the venues’ survival.

Twelve venues in Northumberland have received energy audits; four have had new kitchens installed; three have had air source heat pumps fitted; three have had LED lights fitted; two have launched lending libraries and two have had disabled toilets fitted.

Volunteers: More than 200 volunteers run the Warm Hubs. They have received training including dementia awareness, food hygiene, first aid and CO awareness.

Service providers and energy companies: Warm Hubs provide an easy way for other organisations to engage vulnerable, difficult-to-reach customers. British Gas, National Energy Action, Green Doctors and SGN are among a number of organisations which have attended Warm Hubs or taken part in a Warm Hub energy roadshow.

WHY THIS APPROACH?

Research by National Energy Action has shown that rural areas such as Northumberland are five years behind urban areas when it comes to home energy efficiency. This can place low-income residents in extreme hardship.

Under NGN’s regulatory contract with Ofgem, the company has a responsibility to help combat fuel poverty by installing 14,500 free gas connections to off-grid communities by 2021.

However, Northumberland has a large number of rural, geographically-isolated communities, for whom free gas connections may be cost-prohibitive. They are simply too far away from the nearest gas main. 40 per cent of Northumberland’s population live in rural areas, and more than 17,000 people are income deprived. NGN says it needed another way to help these communities.

Warm Hubs provide warmth, address social isolation, and provide help and referrals around key issues such as fuel switching and energy efficiency.

Rather than being a “quick hit”, the company says it recognised that this project had potential to deliver benefits for many years to come, by becoming financially self-sustaining and run by local people, for local people.

WHAT WERE THE INITIATIVE’S KPIS?

• Provide holistic support for 1,000 vulnerable customers off the gas grid within three years.

ACHIEVED: More than 1,000 residents in Northumberland now attend Warm Hubs each week during the winter months.

• Achieve financial self-sufficiency for Warm Hubs within three years

ACHIEVED: More than £750,000 in funding from external sources (i.e. The National Lottery) has been secured.

• Create a replicable, scalable model

ACHIEVED: 20 Warm Hubs are now thriving in Northumberland; pilot hub launched in Newcastle and a Warm Hubs trial under consideration in the south of England.

• Train 100 volunteers within three years

ACHIEVED: Over 200 volunteers have received training.

HOW WAS CREATIVITY DEMONSTRATED?

Warm Hubs has created new methods of tackling fuel poverty, as well as educating local communities on gas safety and the dangers of carbon monoxide.

WHAT IMPACT has the project had ON THE COMPANY?

Off the back of the project, NGN launched a brand new £50,000 Community Promises Fund to support local communities across the north of England. The fund offers grants of between £1,000 and £10,000 to third sector organisations and community groups with innovative approaches to alleviate hardship and other challenges associated with fuel poverty, educate around energy efficiency ideas and raise awareness of the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Funding is also available to groups who encourage people to get involved with STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and maths) and related career opportunities.

NGN says is committed to surpassing its “social obligations” around fuel poverty, supporting vulnerable customers and raising carbon monoxide awareness. The company uses Warm Hubs as a platform to deliver key information, such as advice on switching, energy saving and carbon monoxide awareness. As a result, an estimated £1.2 million has been saved in household energy bills.

NGN says that the project has morphed into much more than what it was initially intended to be. It provides hot meals, support about switching and transport for those with limited access.

WHO WAS INVOLVED?

Tom Bell, head of social strategy at NGN worked closely with CAN’s community development officer and organisational lead on energy equality, Christine Nicholls, and chief executive, Andy Dean.

Together the two companies trained more than 200 volunteers who helped extend the project across the region by informing the roll-out suggesting vulnerable groups and areas in the region to target.

Nicholls says as a project with no proven track record, the success of it is down to the volunteers who regularly provide a safe, warm and stimulating environment for vulnerable residents.

WERE THERE ANY HURDLES ALONG THE WAY?

A major obstacle, NGN claims, was “trying to constrain it”. The gas distributor put the appropriate facilities in place within the hubs and provided training for volunteers to work with the community.

WHAT WAS THE COST OF THE INITIATIVE?

Initially NGN funded the project delivering around £50,000. By working with CAN, it used some of the money to seek small funds and grants in order to gain further funding. The project surpassed its financial aims, with more than £750,000 in matched funding from external contributors.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

The judges said the winning entry was a pioneering project that established community hubs across Northumberland.

The Utility Week Awards are held in association with CGI and Capgemini.

The 2018 Utility Week Awards will be opening soon. Sponsorship opportunities are available – contact Utility Week business development manager Ben Hammond on benhammond@fav-house.com or 01342 332116 for more information.