Vulnerable customers must be front of mind as we head into winter

Christopher Hayton, head of external affairs at National Grid Electricity Distribution, discusses the company’s work to support vulnerable customers as winter arrives amid as a cost-of-living crisis.

As the political and economic uncertainty in the UK and around the world continues, we know that many homes and businesses across the country are nervous about what the coming winter means for energy supplies and the cost of living. As an integral part of the local community, distribution network operators (DNOs) like National Grid, formally Western Power Distribution, have a key role to play in supporting customers through this difficult time.

We have over 8 million homes and businesses in our region who have access to clean, fair, affordable electricity. We know that electricity powers people’s lives and that we have an important responsibility when it comes to looking after customers, especially those who are vulnerable. This commitment to vulnerable customers is ingrained in our DNA and we’re proud that National Grid has led the way when it comes to designing and delivering support programmes that really make a positive difference.

For us, vulnerable customers aren’t just those who are at risk of fuel poverty or struggling to pay for their energy this winter. We have many customers who rely on electricity for life-saving medical equipment at home, such as dialysis machines and respirators, as well as customers who are elderly or looking after very young children and need the guarantee of a warm home. We have made great progress in identifying and working with these customers to ensure that they get the support they need.

The coming winter will be a test of the partnerships and processes we have put in place and our teams will work around the clock to ensure we continue to identify and support vulnerable customers across the regions we serve. We will also do everything we can to help all of our customers to prepare for the winter, providing tips and guidance on how to make your home ready for potential supply interruptions due to cold weather and storms.

As a business, we have an impressive track record of delivering bespoke services to protect those most vulnerable in the communities we serve.  This includes tailored support during power cuts, as well as initiatives to tackle fuel poverty and maximise opportunities for customers to participate in, and benefit from, the smart energy transition.

Since 2015, we’ve helped more than 92,000 fuel-poor customers save over £37 million on their energy bills. Our extensive Priority Services Register provides extra help and support in the event of a power cut for those who are elderly, ill or disabled, or rely on power for medical equipment. This winter we are continuing our support for our communities through our ground-breaking Community Matters Fund, which is providing £3 million to help grassroots organisations deliver vital services and support to people in need.

Looking to the future

Our RIIO-ED2 Business Plan for 2023-2028 includes vulnerability as one of four strategic outcomes and, over the five year period, will deliver our most ambitious programme of inclusive support ever. We’ll be further expanding many of our current initiatives like the Priority Services Register and the Community Matters Fund, furthering their reach and impact. We’ll also be harnessing the latest innovation, such as smart meter technology and usage trend modelling, to help identify and support harder to reach customers who may need extra care.

Working in partnership with other utilities and support partnerships, we will extend the reach of our Priority Services Register (PSR) to include up to 80% of identified eligible customers. This will enable us to offer tailored support even more widely during power cuts and to support fuel poverty and smart energy programmes. Our proposal for RIIO-ED2 is that we will enable more than 113,000 people to save £60 million during RIIO-ED2. We also plan to offer bespoke smart energy action plans to at least 600,000 PSR customers each year. We’ve also committed to continue our Community Matters Fund and we’ll award at least £1 million every year to support projects in the communities we serve.

As well as collaboration with referral and delivery partners, innovation is going to be key in order to identify those hard to reach customers. Our VENICE (Vulnerability and Energy Networks, Identification and Consumption Evaluation) project will use smart meter data and analyse changes in electricity use in order to better identify and understand the needs of vulnerable customers. This information will enable us to target our outreach services even more effectively.

As an industry, it is vital that we maintain a lasting focus on vulnerability; it is not a time limited issue to be solved, it is an ongoing and evolving requirement of society. At National Grid we remain committed to providing the support that is needed by our customers, not just through the coming winter, not just through the next price control period, but always.