Ofgem has set out that no one should be left behind in the pursuit of net- zero and innovation in the energy sector. However, the recent report from the RIIO-2 Challenge Group highlights the concern that the needs of low income and vulnerable (LIV) customers are not generally well understood by DNOs and not in a joined-up way.
We propose a programme of extensive customer engagement with LIV customers. By starting from LIV customers’ personal point of view, we will be able to fully understand their needs and attitudes, identify the most appropriate forms of engagement and communication, and determine how best to support them in adopting net-zero activities.
Benefits
The project will deliver a better understanding of the needs of LIV customers together with more consistent definitions of the different types of customers. Expansion of the ESC ‘Living Lab’ will expand the number of potential LIV participants in future trials of new technologies and policy initiatives
Learnings
Outcomes
The project produced a library of materials that DNOs can use to better understand and engage with LIV customers. These are available on the ENWL website.
For what ENWL plans to do next, please see section 10, “Planned implementation”.
Lessons Learnt
Electricity North West has identified the below key learning as a result of Impact’s desktop research and customer engagement work.
How LIV customers are currently defined
Impact conducted a review of research previously undertaken by organisations such as network operators, Ofgem and Citizens Advice, to identify how vulnerable customers are currently viewed.
It found that previous research presents a mixed picture when it comes to determining how vulnerable customers can be best served, and tends to focus on specific issues relating to an area. For example, they might focus on vulnerable customers’ access to and use of technology, but exclude essentials such as affordability.
Key learning from this work, based on this review, are the five overarching lenses and associated sub-lenses through which Impact recommends vulnerable customers are viewed, representing their diverse needs and the existing and planned initiatives designed to meet them.
The five lenses and sub-lenses developed are as follows:
- Safety
- Finance
- Technology
- New and low carbon technologies > solar panels, heat pumps
- Increasing complexity of information
- Digitalisation of energy supply > time of use tariffs
- Electricity and gas supply
- Power cuts and supply interruptions
- Change from gas to greener fuels
- Customer relations
- Language/ cultural barriers
- Difficulty in staff reaching customers’ homes
- Effective training of staff surrounding vulnerability
Further detail on these lenses and how they were developed can be found on our website.
Best practice guide
This guide recommends a best practice approach for the energy sector to define the different types of vulnerability.
It draws out some key learning on the implications for the research, as well as for network operators and recommends the below as essential considerations for successful engagement:
1. Consider carers as a target group able to communicate on behalf of the consumers with significant mental impairments in their care.
2. Where consumers are hard to reach via traditional means, consider partnering with organisations such as community support groups, tenants’ associations, relevant charities.
3. It is important to communicate with consumers via a range of channels and offer them a choice in how they engage, e.g., telephone, online, face to face.
4. For research purposes, individual interviews are better suited to tailoring the research method to support the individual.
5. In-home interviews may be needed to cater for the needs of those with physical and mental impairments.
6. Posting materials could engage the digitally disengaged community. Consider a familiar partner to support this endeavour, building trust and boosting engagement. For research purposes, ESC experience is that a direct incentive per interview, rather than prize drawn, yields an appropriate response rate.
7. All written communication and research materials should follow the accessibility guidelines on simple and straight forward sentences and layout and be appropriate for assistive technologies such as screen readers.
8. Where it is difficult to be confident that informed consent has been given for an engagement, the participant should be excluded.
Further detail on Impact’s recommendations can be found on our website: Best practice in engaging LIV customers.
Qualitative research
The qualitative research then took the findings from the lenses report and best practice guide and set out to understand the needs of the customers within each lens, and what specifically a DNO could do to help.
The below were identified as key findings from this research:
- The majority of respondents suggested that help from the network operator would fit into the category of financial support or providing information to customers.
- Regarding finance, there is a need for collaboration with local and national governments, but also with other organisations such as tenants’ and landlords’ associations. The network operator is seen as being able to open doors to these organisations and highlight the areas that are most in need of investment.
- Regarding information, there is a clear role for the network operator to become a trusted source of information. This information should be made available to customers in a format that is easily accessible, and include how to keep costs down, how to reduce hazards in the home, eligibility for the Priority Services Register and the pros and cons of Low Carbon Technologies.
- The final area of support a DNO can give revolves around having an individual relationship with their customers, to ensure they are given the support they need day-to-day and during a power cut.
Final report
Impact used statistical analysis to identify patterns in data from the main quantitative phase of research. The specific analysis techniques used are detailed in the appendix.
From this process, seven broad segments of the total GB population were identified, defined primarily in terms of measures relating to the nature and degree of their vulnerability. Understanding the key differences between the segments is a crucial part of understanding how DNOs can best target their activities to meet the needs of each segment.
It is important to note that these segments cover all energy distribution customers (ie the total GB population), the intention being that the study should allow all definitions of vulnerability to be considered, regardless of severity or how they matched up to current definitions of vulnerability, as all customers are capable of experiencing vulnerability.
Impact suggests that these segments can be used to further existing knowledge and implement tailored actions with some further development, makes recommendations on how best to engage with specific customer types, and identifies which engagement initiatives have been most successful based on customer segment.
This report also highlights what worked well in relation to the techniques used in the research. For example, a “soft launch” of the quantitative survey, which is the process of fielding the survey and analysing the data after approximately 10% of the full sample has been acquired, allowed the opportunity to examine data quality and emerging patterns, and to make improvements to the survey. Impact also confirmed their process in relation to data quality checks, to ensure that respondents were providing quality data, for example, by looking at the time taken to complete the survey, or instances of selecting the same score across all questions.
Further detail on this and the seven vulnerability segments can be found on our website.
