NEA EAST MIDLANDS FUEL POVERTY FORUM NEA UPDATE & POLICY BRIEFING

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1 NEA EAST MIDLANDS FUEL POVERTY FORUM NEA UPDATE & POLICY BRIEFING Nicky Swetnam National Energy Action

2 Policy update agenda 1. Recap on NEA s advocacy priorities 2. Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Bill in Parliament 3. NEA release new short video and respond to ECO 3 proposals 4. Warm Home Discount (WHD) scheme from 2019/20 5. Fuel poverty and energy networks 6. Commission for Customers in Vulnerable Circumstances 7. Private Rented Sector update 8. Closure of telephone services under ESAS 9. NEA Research update 10. AOB

3 NEA s advocacy priorities 1. Helping the worst first & ensuring consistent outcomes for the most vulnerable 2. Enhancing preventative health action 3. Clean, inclusive growth and innovation 4. Enhancing co-operation across the nations

4 Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Bill in Parliament NEA is concerned that: Proposed Standard Variable Tariff wide price cap will not protect those households that are already protected by the Safeguard Tariff Likely possibility the value of the two caps are to be different NEA are: To watch the Report Stages of the Bill view click here. For read the Ofgem consultation click here. Pressing for the extended Safeguard Tariff to be introduced asap, operate alongside the (SVT)-wide cap and continue long after the SVT cap is withdrawn.

5 NEA release new short video and respond to ECO 3 proposals To read NEA's response and a more detailed summary of our recommendations click here. NEA has also released a new short video summarising its concerns with the ECO 3 proposals and our high-level recommendations

6 Warm Home Discount (WHD) scheme from 2019/20 On 15 th June the UK Government responded to consultation on the next phase of the WHD scheme The WHD Govt response published To read NEA's response click here.

7 Cold snap deaths spike Spike in premature deaths 12% above the five-year average for a normal winter More deaths occurred on almost every day in Quarter compared with the five-year average, in fact, most individual days saw more deaths than the corresponding day in any of the previous five years; this is probably due to a combination of influenza and several uncharacteristically cold spells during February and March.

8 Annual fuel poverty statistics for 2016 increase of 0.1% in 2016, to approximately 2.55 million households. average fuel poverty gap % of all fuel poor households lived in Band E or above. Labour responded by saying they would: insulate four million homes introduce an emergency price cap ensuring that the average bill remains below 1,000 per year and reform the market to ensure a fairer system for bill payers.

9 Fuel poverty and energy networks To read NEA's response click here

10 Commission for customers in vulnerable circumstances NEA welcomes the establishment of the Commission for Customers in Vulnerable Circumstances and the related call for evidence. We want to ensure: the most pressing risks facing some customers are prioritised and immediate opportunities are seized more consistent outcomes To view our response click here

11 Private Rented Sector update The consultation closed on 13 March 2018 and the legal requirement for landlords went live on 1 st April. The Government's response is still pending but is expected in June. To read NEA's response click here

12 Other recent developments

13 New Fuel Poverty Partnership Panel The first meeting of the London Fuel Poverty Partnership Panel took place 23 May 2018 The main functions of the Partnership are to: Support and advise the Mayor of London on how he can maximise progress against his Fuel Poverty Action Plan Work collectively to take forward the Mayor s Fuel Poverty Action Plan and deliver the actions contained within the Partnership s work plan

14 Energy Saving Trust service New website The public webpage replacing the ESAS service from the end of June is now live -

15 Live: call for evidence on responding to extreme cold weather Please help us to build our understanding of how the severe cold weather was experienced on the ground. NEA wants to identify key lessons going forward. For more details just go to: For more information, also please get in touch with Jamie-Leigh Ruse, Senior Research and Policy Officer at NEA via

16 Under One Roof Complements a BEIS-funded toolkit that has been produced by Cornwall Council and Citizens Advice The toolkit can be accessed by visiting the following link: old-homes-toolkit/ How to guide - of the recommendations and good practice examples highlighted within our report.

17 Any other business

18 SMART-UP Funded by the European Union s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme NEA along with partners in France, Spain, Italy and Malta trained a network of 540 frontline workers to enable them to provide enhanced advice and support to almost 5,000 vulnerable smart meter households Accompanying research piece to monitor the impact of the advice on engagement with smart meter and any subsequent behaviour change For more information and to download the impact and research reports visit

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20 Secondment opportunities at NEA If you are interested please contact Peter Sumby, Director of Development and Delivery

21 Thank You Follow us on

22 RIIO-2 Your Voice Matters Amy Brooks NEA Fuel Poverty Forum East Midlands 5 July 2018 Cadent Gas Ltd

23 Cadent. Your Gas Network. Proud to keep the energy flowing Cadent Gas Ltd 11/07/2018 2

24 What is RIIO-GD2? RIIO-GD2 will be the next price control for Cadent and the other three network companies, who own and operate the gas distribution networks in Great Britain. This will be the second price control period using the RIIO framework and will start in April Ofgem have initiated the first phase of their review which will culminate in their decision on the framework which is expected in either May or June Cadent Gas Ltd 11/07/2018 3

25 We re after your views and feedback: It is crucial that the business plan we submit to Ofgem ahead of April 2021 represents what our customers and stakeholders would like us to deliver. Over the next 18 months we will be engaging with our customers and stakeholders through surveys, workshops, focus groups etc. in order to listen to views and feedback on various topics. We need your help! Leave your name and contact details on the sign-up sheets if you d like to get involved. Cadent Gas Ltd Safety, Reliability, Customer, Environment, Social Obligations & 11/07/ Connections

26 Thank you Amy Brooks M E amy.brooks@cadentgas.com Cadent Gas Ltd

27 Impacts and Insights from SMART-UP Dr Jamie-Leigh Ruse Senior Research and Policy Officer NEA East Midlands Fuel Poverty Forum 5 th July 2018

28 Project Introduction

29 Training All participants completed an evaluation form to capture improvements in knowledge and confidence, satisfaction with the course, and suggestions for improvements. All scores were ranked 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest): Knowledge of the subject before completing 2.6 the course Knowledge of the subject after completing the 4.5 course Confidence in passing on knowledge before 2.3 completing course Confidence in passing on knowledge after 4.3 completing course How well the course met participant s needs 4.3 Quality of materials provided 4.5 Total number of people participants estimate 157 they will provide advice to per week

30 Design of tailored resources

31 Organisation of the pilot groups Group Number of participating households Intervention Experimental group 1 27 SMART-UP information pack Enhanced advice visit Aftercare service (follow-up calls) Experimental group SMART-UP information pack - Enhanced advice visit Experimental group SMART-UP information pack - Aftercare service (follow-up calls) Control Group (Experimental group 4) 20 No intervention Experimental group SMART-UP standard advice visit - SMART-UP information pack

32 Household engagement and recruitment

33 Barriers to recruitment in the UK Delayed smart meter roll-out Supplier-led delivery Data limitations Lack of appetite for suppliers to add to complexity and duration of existing visits Vulnerable customer bases largely avoided to date for smart meter installation Existing SMICOP-compliant training limits willingness to integrate SMART-UP model into business planning

34 Evaluation methods Pre-intervention questionnaire Post-intervention questionnaire Semi-structured, qualitative telephone interviews with households Pilot aftercare trackers Semi-structured, qualitative telephone interviews with frontline workers and managers involved in delivering SMART-UP

35 Sample Characteristics 89% prevalence of housing in the social rented sector 46% of households had at least one child living with them 31% of households containing at least person aged 65 or older 75% of participant households living on incomes of less than 16,000 per year 89.5% in receipt of means-tested benefits Only 14% of households had at least one person in the household in paid full or part-time work 73% of participating households had at least one person with a long-standing physical or mental health condition or disability 23% of participants had no formal qualifications, and only 11% had a higher education or undergraduate qualification 52% of households had someone at home all the time every day

36 Enhanced Advice I never really checked the display thing, I ve never used it. Then like now I m proper on the ball with it, I know exactly what it is now and how much I m spending. With the Smart meter, things make more sense. It definitely makes life better. At least you don t have to stress about oh, I don t know how much I m using or I don t know how many days are left. Let s just hope for the best. No. The smart meter is there for a reason.i think it s paying off.

37 Information Pamphlet He did leave some information pamphlets. It tells us to think about what I m spending and you know, whether I m wasting energy. It was good because sometimes you don t always take too much information in at once, so sometimes it s better to get it in smaller doses. I tend not to listen if it s too much. The leaflet is handy if you forget and you can check it. Because I couldn t remember, I didn t know how to put the emergency gas on, so I went to the leaflet and figured it out. That helped quite a lot.

38 At the end of the week from the little book, I tot it all up, and I see what I ve spent. Now that s only a guide really isn t it? It isn t an accurate account, but it s very, very close. It s really a relief, you know. There s no pressure on you. If you know what energy you re using and you know what you re paying into the system, and then you ve got no worries. It s peace of mind. Energy Diary

39 Telephone aftercare service I mean, if we did have a problem, I ve got some, you know, get in touch with him, ring him up and just say that I ve got a problem and say how do I do this on the smart meter? He was very good.

40 Delivering advice effectively The most effective format of advice delivered through SMART-UP was the combination of enhanced face-to-face advice, the provision of written information resources, and the telephone aftercare service. Offering advice in multiple formats meant participants with varying needs and vulnerabilities could find the best way of accessing information to suit them.

41 Smart meter advice at point of installation He just left a leaflet and I just sort of had to read through it myself. And, I m not a reader. Not really. I m 82 next birthday and it baffles me with science, everything. Whether it be telephone or gas meters or whatever. It really does go over my head. Percentage of respondents "I am satisfied with the advice and information given to me about how to use the IHD, for example from my supplier" (pre-intervention) n= Strongly agree Tend to agree Neither agree nor disagree Extent of agreement Tend to disagree 19.5 Strongly disagree It was quite limited really. It was like, the guy that fitted it, it was like he didn t even want to be here. I ve never seen someone doing something so quick. Yeah he showed me a brief introduction, how to do it, and you just learn it as you go along after that.

42 Impact on smart metering behaviours Respondents were more likely to: Check how much electricity they are using right now Use the traffic light system to monitor their electricity use Check how much an appliance costs to run Check how much electricity they had used in the previous day, week or month Set a budget or target for how much electricity they want to spend in a day, week or month Feel that they understood how to use their IHD Find the IHD useful to help monitor and manage electricity use in their home

43 Pre-intervention energy behaviours Well, this was a problem you see. The problem being is that our boiler is not through the kitchen like everybody else s round here. Our boiler is in the outhouse. Now say like if it drops below 15, it automatically comes on. But we found the first year we were here that the energy bills through the winter were excessive compared to the last property we were living in. It was a struggle. but we had to just keep the heat on. We were keeping warm but the bills were higher than what it was at the other home. It s a bit difficult when you ve got a child, cause you always have to have the heating on for them. So if it was me on my own I just won t put it on or I d hide under a blanket but you can t really do that. What I do try and do is put an hour or two when he goes to school, then I just take it off and I put it on a bit at lunchtime and then leave it off until the evening like in bits.

44 Impact on energy efficient behaviours Apart from towels and things like that, I put that on an hour wash, but a lot of my washing now is done on a half hour wash, because I ve had some good energy saving tips, haven t I?

45 Energy Vulnerability In the cold days and nights you need to know how much gas you have left and how much you are saving energy and money at the same time. I had to cut back on the winter shoes and clothes, didn t do anything. Just kept on putting more money into the gas.

46 Concluding remarks Households that were engaged by SMART-UP were likely to be vulnerable to energy poverty, digital exclusion, and to require additional support in being able to use, understand and make the most of their smart meter and IHD. The project was able to encourage participating households to engage in more (and more positive) energy efficient behaviours Advice delivered through SMART-UP was successful in enabling vulnerable households to understand and engage with their smart meter and IHD, increasing the range of purposes for which they used them, as well as the frequencies with which such tasks were carried out. The project did however highlight the need to combine behaviour change advice alongside other measures (such as the provision energy efficiency measures, income maximisation advice and fuel debt alleviation).

47 Recommendations for frontline workers Delivering advice in multiple and complimentary formats Can include more traditional formats such as face-to-face, paper-based and telephone but can also include digital content that can be viewed online or through television, as well as conversations through text messaging and whatsapp Deliver advice as close to time when households receive a smart meter as possible Provide a holistic intervention covering multiple aspects of a household s relationship with energy and energy market

48 Recommendations for policy makers Enabling frontline workers to deliver effective advice to households Produce resources to reflect smart meter and IHD variation across suppliers More effective mechanisms for identifying and targeting vulnerable consumers who may require additional support are needed Additional guidance on measuring and evidencing impact of behavioural and smart metering interventions welcome Importance of complimentary interventions advice and behaviour change support, hard measures, income maximisation and fuel debt alleviation

49 Thank you