[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":67},["ShallowReactive",2],{"hJCtSe5MDy":3},{"data":4},{"id":5,"status":6,"title":7,"split":8,"strap":9,"intro":10,"blocks":11,"stats":42,"commitments":53,"next":54},19,"published","Value for money",null,"Delivering value for money","\u003Cp class=\"p1\">Two central elements of our vision are to be a respected and trusted corporate citizen and to be sustainably cost efficient.\u003C/p>\n\u003Chr>\n\u003Cp class=\"p1\">Providing value for money for our customers is a fundamental responsibility that we take with the utmost seriousness, particularly in these times of financial pressure caused by the cost-of-living crisis. Many of the innovations we have introduced in 2023/24 are designed with value for our customers’ money in mind.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch4 class=\"p2\">Customer videos speed up LCT connections\u003C/h4>\n\u003Cp class=\"p1\">As people want to connect equipment such as EVs and heat pumps in ever-greater numbers, more of them are coming directly to us rather than going through installers. The Fuse Upgrade that is required is complicated and requires information customers don’t have and uses technical language many won’t understand. This can lead to them submitting incorrect information which makes the process longer and more complicated for the customer.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp class=\"p1\">Building on work we’ve already done to make the process easier for installers, we can now use video surveys that customers complete at their own convenience. These allow our staff to identify what work is required, without the need for complex, technical questions. For example, an external view of the customer’s home tells us if their supply is fed through overground or underground cables, and this is not necessarily apparent to customers. The information we gather allows us to assign the correct engineer for the job quickly and increases the proportion of work that is delivered right first time. This speeds the process up considerably, reducing customer frustration and saving both time and money.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp class=\"p1\">During 2023/24, we supported 300 customers through video calls and in 100 cases, the video calls told us that the faults were internal; without those calls we would have sent an engineer to investigate, so we saved 100 unnecessary engineer visits.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp class=\"p1\">We are building on the success of this project, and are now looking to roll this solution out to other areas of the business to make better use of our resources, thereby reducing our operating costs thanks to fewer aborted connections engineer visits.\u003C/p>\n\u003Chr>\n\u003Ch4 class=\"p1\">Automated Tunnel Data Capture\u003C/h4>\n\u003Cp class=\"p2\">In 2023/24, we started using a robot (see \u003Ca href=\"/operational-performance/network-reliability\">here\u003C/a>) to carry out tunnel and shaft inspections. The robot can work tirelessly and accurately, with none of the safety risks involved in sending a person into these confined spaces. It works more quickly and, thanks to AI, detects anomalies and defects that are not obvious to the naked, human eye, so we fix the problems sooner. This project was funded by UK Power Networks, and the savings that it will make on behalf of customers are significant.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch4 class=\"p1\">Flex provides saving on reinforcement costs\u003C/h4>\n\u003Cp class=\"p2\">We consistently market test all future network needs to identify the lowest cost option to deliver capacity. This year we market tested £470m of network investment across 450 sites through our twice-yearly flexibility tenders and delivered £91m benefits to customers by using flexibility to defer distribution network investment. The independent DSO Supervisory Board (see case study, below) challenged us to ensure our network investment levels remain sustainable to meet future demand, while keeping costs low for consumers. We are on track to deliver our business plan commitment of a £410m reduction in network reinforcement spend during RIIO-ED2. 100% of these savings flow to bill-payers rather than shareholders. The savings this year will result in customer bills being lower than they would otherwise have been.\u003C/p>\n\u003Chr>\n\u003Ch4 class=\"p1\">£1.3m worth of free electricity for 24,000 households\u003C/h4>\n\u003Cp class=\"p2\">We worked with Octopus Energy to launch an offer that allows customers with a smart meter to use spare green electricity at no cost (see \u003Ca href=\"/operational-performance/innovation-path-to-net-zero\">here\u003C/a>). 24,000 customers enrolled for this in 2023/24, with 77% taking part at each event. The offer makes use of the excess green electricity that is generated when it is sunny or windy. This is another example of us finding ways to provide value for our customers.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp class=\"p2\">We ran sessions with Octopus Energy, to share our learnings with other DSOs, to support the service to scale up, so that more customers across Great Britain can take part. We are pleased to see National Grid Electricity Distribution (NGED) committing to introduce demand turn-up from 2025. Building on the success of our work with Octopus, we engaged with other energy suppliers with significant customer bases to understand their appetite to provide flexibility and identify any barriers we could help address. This resulted in us awarding contracts to British Gas and OVO which, together with Octopus, supply energy to more than 50% of domestic customers in the UK.\u003C/p>",[12,30],{"item":13},{"id":14,"title":15,"intro":8,"pages":16,"items":17,"case":29},30,"Our performance highlights",[],[18],{"id":19,"status":6,"sort":20,"title":21,"key":8,"fkey":14,"body":8,"cta":8,"intro":22,"stats":23},139,1,"Annual domestic charges 2023-24","Domestic unrestricted customers based on a typical annual consumption value of 2,700 kWh.",[24],{"stat_id":25},{"id":26,"figure":27,"caption":28,"stat_fid":8},47,"22% lower","annual domestic charges than the industry average",[],{"item":31},{"id":32,"title":33,"intro":8,"pages":34,"items":35,"case":41},31,"How we are looking after the interests of our customers",[],[36],{"id":37,"status":6,"sort":20,"title":38,"key":8,"fkey":32,"body":39,"cta":8,"intro":8,"stats":40},119,"Creation of the distribution system operator (DSO)","\u003Cblockquote>\n\u003Cp class=\"p1\">UK Power Networks’ full legal unbundling of the DSO and the appointment of an independent Supervisory Board is a radical shift that moves our focus towards the needs of customers and away from the way DNOs have always done things.”\u003C/p>\n\u003C/blockquote>\n\u003Cp class=\"p2 u-sig\">\u003Cstrong>Michael Walsh\u003Cbr>\u003C/strong>Chair UK Power Networks DSO Supervisory Board\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp class=\"p1\">Our stakeholders told us that their top priority was maximum transparency of decision-making about the potential conflicts of interest relating to choosing between flexibility and network investment. To ensure that we are providing value for money for our customers, we opted to form a Distribution System Operator (DSO) that is legally separate from the UK Power Networks Distribution Network Operator (DNO). We now have the world’s first legally separate DSO, overseen by an independent Supervisory Board that approves investment decisions, ensuring we deliver capacity at the lowest overall cost to consumers.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp class=\"p1\">The DSO Supervisory Board challenges and approves the recommendations made by the Distribution Network Options Assessment process, through which we identify needs for additional capacity on the network and evaluate flexibility and network solutions on a level playing field.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cdiv class=\"u-block-panel\">\n\u003Ch5 class=\"p1\">What this means for our customers\u003C/h5>\n\u003Cp class=\"p2\">The DSO panel reviewed £470m of additional potential investments in detail. We challenged the DSO to maximise flexibility, unlocking the potential for an additional £81m of customer savings during RIIO-ED2, while ensuring that this does not build a problem for the future.\u003C/p>\n\u003C/div>",[],[],[43,48],{"stat_id":44},{"id":45,"figure":46,"caption":47,"stat_fid":8},7,"£7.35","our domestic customers pay us an average monthly charge of £7.35 (25p per day) for a reliable electricity supply",{"stat_id":49},{"id":50,"figure":51,"caption":52,"stat_fid":8},68,"Lowest cost","DNO in 2023/24. This means our customers paid us an average monthly charge of £7.35 (25p per day) which is 22% less than the industry average",[],{"id":55,"status":6,"title":56,"split":8,"strap":57,"intro":58,"next":59,"blocks":60,"stats":63,"commitments":66},20,"Innovation and the path to Net Zero","Innovation and the path towards Net Zero","\u003Cp class=\"p1\">We never forget that we have a responsibility to provide value for money for our customers. This principle underpins every decision we make in the business. It is the reason, for example, that we structured our Distribution System Operator (DSO) in a way that has the best interests of our customers at heart.\u003C/p>\n\u003Chr>\n\u003Cp class=\"p1\">Innovation is vital for the future of our network. It helps us keep at the forefront of developments in our field, keep costs down for customers, and helps ensure we are ready to facilitate a fair transition to a low-carbon economy.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp class=\"p1\">Many innovative projects we work on are technical engineering solutions that both enhance and inform the way we manage our network. These may include digitising traditionally analogue systems to give network operators greater visibility of our network, or helping more green technologies to connect on our journey to Net Zero. Some of our innovations are rooted in our approach to data collection and management, others relate to the way we manage our customer service or our relationships with partners of all kinds.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp class=\"p1\">This regulatory year we became the first ever network operator in the UK to establish a legally-independent Distribution System Operator, which further underlined our bold approach to innovation. Led by a director, the DSO is scrutinised by an independent Supervisory Board that is tasked with ensuring our investments provide value for customers.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp class=\"p1\">Our approach to planning the future of our network is to put flexibility first. In other words, we look for ways to get the most from our network before building new infrastructure. That helps to ensure that when we do build new infrastructure it’s the right capacity in the right place at the right time.\u003C/p>\n\u003Chr>\n\u003Ch3 class=\"p2\">Ambitious and groundbreaking innovations\u003C/h3>\n\u003Cp class=\"p1\">The ambition of Net Zero continues to drive our innovations and is a recurring theme in the many advances we saw in 2023/24.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch4 class=\"p3\">Day ahead flexibility\u003C/h4>\n\u003Cp class=\"p4\">In March 2024, we were the first network to offer a day-ahead flexibility product at a distribution level. Daily mini tenders are held to secure services for the next day, in addition to the traditional twice-yearly flexibility tenders. These mini-tenders enable flexibility providers to give a more accurate picture of their availability, creating new business opportunities and allowing them to coordinate their services in other areas, such as wholesale markets and ancillary services. This new product helps flexibility providers manage supply and demand peaks more effectively, by allowing them to commit to changes in their operations one day in advance.\u003C/p>\n\u003Chr>\n\u003Ch4 class=\"p1\">Powercast – putting EV drivers in charge\u003C/h4>\n\u003Cp class=\"p2\">We are always looking for ways to encourage EV driving. In March 2024, we helped ev.energy launch an innovative feature on their charging app, helping EV owners stay charged in the event of a planned power cut. The app provides alerts to EV drivers about both planned and unplanned power cuts, so people can plan ahead and charge their cars before the outage starts.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp class=\"p2\">Known as ‘Powercast’, the free feature works by linking ev.energy’s system with UK Power Networks’ live power cut data, which shares real-time information. ev.energy passes the key facts on to the driver and provides advice on alternative charging methods so they can make an informed decision of what to do.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch4 class=\"p3\">Neat Heat: Trial opens the door to low carbon heating\u003C/h4>\n\u003Cp class=\"p2\">Decarbonising heating is a vital part of the path to Net Zero and in 2022 we launched a trial to test how we can move heat demand away from peak electricity hours. By installing suitable zero-emission, smart heating systems in homes which might have trouble installing traditional heat pumps, and by taking advantage of an innovative ‘type-of-use’ tariff developed by OVO, we proved the ability to shift electricity demand for heating outside peak hours by over 90%. The groundbreaking Neat Heat project could enable millions of small households to cut their carbon emissions significantly.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp class=\"p2\">During the trial, the Zero Emission Boiler® (ZEB) ‘charged’ when electricity was cheaper or greener based on OVO's price signals. With a high-density storage core, the ZEB makes the most of off-peak tariffs to charge up overnight or during the day, efficiently storing this energy and releasing it when the thermostat calls for heat or hot water.\u003C/p>\n\u003Chr>\n\u003Ch4 class=\"p3\">Support for Local Authorities planning for Net Zero\u003C/h4>\n\u003Cp class=\"p2\">Around 100 of the 133 Local Authorities (LAs) in the UK Power Networks region have declared a climate emergency, and over 300 across the UK have done the same. LAs need help to produce and deploy an effective Local Area Energy Plan (LAEP) and UK Power Networks has developed an innovative approach to do that.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>We have built a web-based geospatial tool, called \u003Ca href=\"https://www.yourlocalnetzerohub.co.uk/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">‘Your Local Net Zero Hub’\u003C/a> that enables Local Energy Planners to use extensive, sophisticated data sets to analyse and design ways to decarbonise their area and produce effective LAEPs that will help plan energy use for decades to come.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch4>Spotlight\u003C/h4>\n\u003Cp>Not all our innovation is designed to cut carbon emissions directly. We also put our creative minds to addressing vulnerability and the inequalities that can trigger. The Spotlight project uses data modelling and machine learning to identify customers who may need more support with greater accuracy. It pulls together a huge range of data sources into a useable, comprehensive resource which allows us to understand our vulnerable customers with a degree of granularity that we have not seen before. The information it provides means we can shape our services and communicate with customers in ways that we know will be relevant for the needs we have identified. See \u003Ca href=\"/responsible-business/social-responsibility\">here\u003C/a> for more detail.\u003C/p>",21,[61,62],62,54,[64,65],9,35,[],1737733128374]