Meeting the need of consumers and network users

Customer Satisfaction

Stakeholders have told us that customer service during power cuts is very important and remains one of their top priorities. However, stakeholders consider WPD’s existing performance to be very good, so they would like us to focus on maintaining current high levels of service and seek incremental improvements where possible.

Stakeholders therefore want WPD to set targets to ensure we continue to deliver industry-leading performance.

Communication

Timely, clear communication is considered vital for customers, especially during power cuts. Whilst a dramatic improvement on current performance levels is not deemed necessary by stakeholders, they will not accept any regression. They would therefore like to see targets that aim for further improvement wherever possible.

Stakeholders want WPD to offer a wide range of communication channels to suit the preferences of different customers.

WPD must ensure it maintains the same quality of performance regardless of the method of contact a customer chooses.

Improving information provided during planned power cuts, as well as unplanned incidents, is also very important to stakeholders. This should always include the estimated length of time the power will be off.

Over 20,000 WPD customers are randomly selected for survey each year, following a power cut (planned or unplanned), connection (quotation or completed work) or general enquiry. Surveys are conducted by a specialist, independent research agency that carries out surveys for all distribution network operators. WPD’s average satisfaction last year was 8.9/10.

WPD operates regionally based, in-house Contact Centres. Last year we handled over 1 million inbound calls with an average speed of answer of between 2 and 4 seconds.

In addition, customers can currently communicate with us via Twitter, Facebook, WPD smart device app, WPD Power Cut Reporter app, text message, website, email, WhatsApp and Webchat.

Occasionally things can go wrong. Last year we resolved 89% of complaints within one day and 98.6% within 31 days.

External accreditation standards provide external assessment of how WPD performs in relation to accessibility and customer service. This is used to identify service improvements and innovations.

You are currently completing package 1.1 regarding customer service. 

Within the table there are 4 options to chose from, the highlighted panel, option 2 is WPD's current view. 

Please select one of the 4 options within the form for each commitment, if you feel there should be alternative commitments please select option 5 and then use the free text box to specify. There is also a free text box at the bottom of table for any further commitments.  

Power cut vulnerability

Stakeholders have been clear that the causes of vulnerability can be complex and changing. As a result they expect WPD to keep its Priority Services Register (PSR) up-to-date. But they are not just concerned about data quality, it is important this information is then used to deliver tailored advice and support to customers, particularly during emergencies.

Vulnerability can be temporary so PSR data needs to be reviewed frequently, with enduring relationships built with customers, tracking those on the register.

Stakeholders have told us that vulnerable customers should not be expected to register multiple times with multiple companies (for example, with WPD, their supplier, gas company and water company). WPD should therefore collaborate with other agencies to share PSR data (where we have consent to do so) and a move towards a national PSR should be supported.

Fuel poverty

Stakeholders view protecting fuel poor households as a WPD obligation because there is a direct correlation between power cut vulnerability and fuel poverty. This has increased in importance as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Many customers living in cold homes are unlikely to seek out this support so WPD should proactively identify and engage those requiring support, utilising a wide range of partners and existing community outreach programmes.

Stakeholders have told WPD to ensure our interventions treat the causes of fuel poverty and achieve lasting improvements for customers, rather than just treating the symptoms via short-term fixes, like hardship funds. For example, WPD should help community energy schemes that may be able to help to combat fuel poverty in their communities.

Smart future

It is crucial that vulnerable customers are not left behind in the transition to a smart and exible energy system. WPD must first understand the needs of vulnerable customers in a low carbon energy future and identify those who may not be able to access new services and the reasons why, in order to devise solutions to avoid them being adversely affected.

WPD should harness innovation to find ways of using new technologies and services to have positive impacts for the fuel poor.

The Priority Services Register (PSR) is a free and confidential register of customers in vulnerable situations who require priority assistance during power cuts. Reasons may include age, disability, medical dependencies on electricity, or temporary/ transient vulnerability. WPD’s PSR currently contains over 1.9m customers. For the last 6 years WPD has been contacting customers every 2 years, via a dedicated PSR team in our Contact Centre to update their records and deliver tailored advice. The frequency of these calls was set by stakeholders on WPD’s Customer Collaboration Panel as it was considered an appropriate duration of time over which a customer’s circumstances may have changed.

A customer can register directly with WPD, or via their energy supplier. Automated data- ows are in place to notify each company when a new registration occurs. We currently have manual data-sharing agreements in place with the majority of gas and water companies in our region to share data where the customer gives permission to do so.

WPD currently works with a network of over 100 partner agencies to identify customers via their frontline services that may be eligible for the PSR. These agencies include charities, local authorities, utility companies and health services.

In England a household is said to be fuel poor if “it has above-average energy costs, and if paying those costs would push it below the poverty line as far as its remaining income is concerned.” At WPD we apply a wider definition of any customer that indicates that they are not able to a ord to adequately heat their home and may therefore benefit from our assistance.

We currently operate a range of fuel poverty schemes, where we work with a number of community partner groups, including for example, Citizens Advice Coventry, Citizens Advice Derbyshire, Energy Savings Trust and Centre for Sustainable Energy.

The schemes offer direct support ranging from helping customer to switch energy tari s through to access to energy efficiency installations. Over the last 5 years we have supported over 70,000 fuel poor customers to save over £27 million.

You are currently completing package 1.2 regarding customers in vulnerable situations. 

Within the table there are 4 options to chose from, the highlighted panel, option 2 is WPD's current view. 

Please select one of the 4 options within the form for each commitment, if you feel there should be alternative commitments please select option 5 and then use the free text box to specify. There is also a free text box at the bottom of table for any further commitments.  

Provide accurate, comprehensive and user-friendly information

Stakeholders want to see a continual focus on improving the availability of information for connections customers, ensuring it is easily accessible and clearly communicated. This should include helping customers to interpret data, particularly first time connection customers who may not have a detailed knowledge of the connections process.

In particular stakeholders want more support to help customers navigate new and complex information around connecting
low carbon technologies.

They believe WPD should extend the range of exible connection options for customers, as an alternative to conventional reinforcement, to provide the network capacity required. This should include helping to develop connections consortiums to share costs and capacity.

Simple and transparent connections process

Stakeholders want to see the processes between WPD and Independent Distribution Network Operators developed to ensure smooth interactions across contestable connections activities. They have also requested greater engagement with independent connection providers to share best practice, including for non-contestable works.

WPD should provide a named point of contact to help to guide customers through the connections process. The process and language used needs to be further simpli ed to help customers with less technical knowledge to apply for a quotation.

Local authorities in particular would like to be able to access the contact details of WPD local network planners, in order to better engage on planning applications ahead of submission.

Deliver timely connections

Local authorities would welcome regular and early engagement with WPD at a strategic planning level, to try to avoid the risk of network constraints at an early stage. To aid this, stakeholders feel that WPD should continue to allocate capacity for a limited period of time, and to make this available again if it is not utilised in a reasonable amount of time.

Each year WPD provides around 70,000 budget estimates and quotations for customers, leading to the delivery of around 30,000 new or upgraded connections to the network.

The scale of connection schemes is wide, ranging from single new house builds to, large housing developments, from commercial developments to large generation schemes such as wind farms.

Connection customers can request a connection from WPD or an Independent Connection Provider (ICP) and can also engage an Independent Distribution Network Operator (IDNO) to build, own and operate the new network providing their connections.

Through the expansion of Competition in Connections, ICP and IDNOs are able to design and construct works to be connected to the network and in some cases, determine the point on the network where to connect to. WPD facilitates this through the provision of information and supporting services.

WPD’s connection customers are surveyed by independent specialist research agencies in three satisfaction surveys, with over 17,000 customers surveyed last year. In the Ofgem survey focussed on small connection schemes, WPD’s average satisfaction was 8.99/10. Customer seeking to connect generation to the network gave an average score of 9.44/10 last year. Customers seeking to connect larger schemes gave WPD 8.73/10. In addition, last year WPD held 241 connection surgeries to support customers seeking a connection.

Guaranteed standards of performance set minimum standards of connections service timescales for quotes and connections. So far in RIIO-ED1, we have issued over 350,000 budget estimates and quotations and made over 150,000 connections with only six failures. WPD has outperformed Ofgem’s time to quote and time to connect targets for small connection schemes, with quotes taking on average less than 4 days and connections taking less than 35 days last year.

The significant increase in the requirements to connect new generation and energy storage to the network has driven the development of flexible connections, where customers agree to exibility in their capacity requirements (during times of network constraint) to enable quicker or cheaper connections to the existing network without the need to build new assets.

You are currently completing package 1.3 regarding connections. 

Within the table there are 4 options to chose from, the highlighted panel, option 2 is WPD's current view. 

Please select one of the 4 options within the form for each commitment, if you feel there should be alternative commitments please select option 5 and then use the free text box to specify. There is also a free text box at the bottom of table for any further commitments.  

Stakeholders have made it clear that they expect more from WPD than a reliable supply of electricity at a reasonable price – this is viewed as a basic expectation. As WPD delivers an essential public service for a population of over 20 million people, stakeholders state that it must demonstrate its legitimacy, both as an excellent service provider, and as a good corporate citizen more widely.

As the largest DNO, stakeholders indicated that it is vital that WPD connects with the local communities it serves and builds trust in the services it provides and the way it operates. They believe we are accountable for contributing to wider societal wellbeing (including environmental and economic benefits).

Our stakeholders suggested a social contract as a way to outline the commitments to our customers that go above and beyond WPD’s regulatory requirements and generate additional social value. Stakeholders therefore suggested that a social contract should be a standalone and enduring document, not just for a business plan period. They suggested 15 key aspects that the standalone social contract should contain – ranging from transparency about how customers’ money is being spent (both in terms of shareholder dividends and tax a airs), to protections for customers in vulnerable situations, to explicit initiatives to ensure WPD delivers a positive contribution to society and the environment.

However, given that WPD’s Business Plan must also cover actions in a number of similar areas (e.g. vulnerability and environment), stakeholders feel that the social contract must inform the social responsibilities and overall behaviours that will underpin the Business Plan itself.

Of particular importance to stakeholders is that we report our performance in a transparent way, so that we can be held to account for our performance, particularly for the actions we take in relation to our social responsibility. Wherever possible this should include robust, independent assessment of our performance so that stakeholders can have faith in the validity of our reporting.

In terms of the initiatives WPD should deliver, stakeholders want to see substantial support for the social needs of the local communities WPD serves. This has risen signi cantly as a stakeholder priority throughout 2020 in light of the Covid-19 pandemic with stakeholders seeing a clear role for WPD to partner with local community groups to help those who are most isolated and deprived in society.

A social contract is a framework for the delivery of our stakeholders’ priorities, through social and environmental initiatives that go above and beyond our business plan strategy. In simplified terms, the Business Plan covers what we will deliver for customers; the costs; and the justifications from the perspective of stakeholder requirements, cost considerations and regulatory requirements. By contrast, the social contract sets out why our role is essential to our social purpose and how we operate on a local level in order to have the most benefit in our communities (today and in the future).

To date, WPD has undertaken extensive benchmarking research to establish best practice with regards to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) activities from
a wide range of companies across UK plc. This has enabled us to gauge how we are currently performing and to identify areas for innovation and improvement. In 2020 WPD achieved a ‘B’ rating as part an external ESG assessment, which places WPD in the top 15% of utility companies assessed globally.

WPD has also been a key contributor to a collaboration project alongside a range of other utility companies, led by Sustainability First. The ‘Fair for the Future’ project seeks to frame a ‘sustainable licence to operate’ and it has heavily in uenced the development of WPD’s social contract. WPD will use this framework to set criteria against which we will annually assess our actions in relation to delivering the social contract.

In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, within 2 weeks of the rst UK-wide lockdown in March 2020, we launched a brand new ‘In This Together – Community Matters’ Fund, specifically to support customers and local communities negatively impacted by the pandemic. In the last 9 months we have awarded £1 million, to fund 871 charities and community organisations, which has resulted in direct support to over 560,000 people in vulnerable situations. 

You are currently completing package 1.4 regarding social contract. 

Within the table there are 4 options to chose from, the highlighted panel, option 2 is WPD's current view. 

Please select one of the 4 options within the form for each commitment, if you feel there should be alternative commitments please select option 5 and then use the free text box to specify. There is also a free text box at the bottom of table for any further commitments.