‘Why is Boris Johnson on the PSR?’

There are far too many consumers signed up to Priority Services Registers (PSR) and there needs to be a serious rethink of how eligibility is determined.

That is the view of Utilita’s chief customer contact officer who pointed out that even former prime minister Boris Johnson is eligible for priority services designed to help vulnerable consumers in times of need.

Louise Walsh was speaking at Utility Week Live where she revealed that Utilita has almost 400,000 customers – 45% of its customer base – on its PSR.

She said: “You need to have an understanding of what priority services is meant to achieve… If you take Boris Johnson for example, he has a child under five and is therefore on the PSR. I don’t think very many people would consider him as vulnerable, so does it actually still do what we are looking to achieve in relation to consumer support?”

By signing up to a utility company’s PSR, consumers can access a range of extra help when needed, such as priority support in an emergency and bottled water during a loss of supply.

When asked what can be done to reform these services, Walsh suggested the sector looks at consumers’ individual needs and circumstances.

“The real fix here is getting consumers to engage because they will understand their situation better than anyone else in relation to what support they need. Let’s not put them on a list and determine what support that means they get, let’s actually start treating them as individuals and providing support in line with their circumstance,” she said.

Earlier this year a major milestone was reached in terms of sharing vulnerable customer data when all four of the UK’s gas distribution networks joined the shared PSR following a change in the way they handle vulnerable customer data.

Cadent, Northern Gas Networks, SGN and Wales & West Utilities all began sharing PSR data with energy retailers and water companies after moving to using the substantial public interest (SPI) clause to share customer data, rather than explicitly asking customers for consent.

It was a major breakthrough for the utilities sector which has for years talked about the need for better data sharing regarding vulnerable customers, but has been constrained by issues such as consent for the information to be shared.

A recent consultation by the Department for Business and Trade included a proposal to establish a multi-sector PSR. The government has since announced its intention to take forward work to create a ‘Share Once Support Register,’ bringing together the current Priority Services Registers and similar telecoms registers.