UK’s biggest power distributor to pay £15m for failing vulnerable customers

theguardian.com:

The UK’s biggest electricity distribution business has agreed to pay £14.9m after its support for vulnerable customers during power cuts was deemed “totally unacceptable”.

The energy regulator said National Grid’s Western Power Distribution (WPD) did not provide proper support to 1.7 million customers during the outages. An Ofgem investigation, launched in 2020, found that WPD had failed customers in a number of areas including not carrying out criminal record checks for all staff visiting customers’ homes.

WPD also failed to swiftly notify and update some of those affected by the outages about when power would be restored and what assistance was available.

Network companies have a duty to provide extra support to about 6 million UK households in vulnerable circumstances and are on a register for priority services. The investigation found WPD left new vulnerable customers waiting for information on how to prepare for power cuts for up to a year. The problem persisted for five years, Ofgem said.

The settlement has been announced at a point when energy companies’ treatment of customers is in the spotlight amid soaring household bills. On Tuesday, the business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, gave energy firms three weeks to justify hikes to direct debit payments.

Cathryn Scott, the director of enforcement and emerging issues at Ofgem, said: “WPD did not meet all of its obligations to provide additional support to some of its most vulnerable customers to safeguard their wellbeing. In our view it also took too long to put this right. This is totally unacceptable.”

WPD, which is the distribution network operator for south Wales, the Midlands and the south-west of England, was bought by National Grid last year from the US company PPL