avatar WALES & WEST UTILITIES LIMITED Transportation, Communications, Electric, Gas, And Sanitary Services
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Download the Report of WALES & WEST UTILITIES LIMITED for year 2016

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    Annual stakeholder report 2016/17 A productive year yields positive results

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    Find out more Contents and keep in touch W ould you like to find out more about what we do? Or, more importantly, what we can do for you? A bit about us 04 Customers sometimes need extra help for a variety of reasons. It could be because Engaging with their gas supply is interrupted, or there’s a new baby or very young children in the our stakeholders home. Perhaps someone has developed a long-term health condition, or is helping to take care of an older relative. Whatever the reason, our message is to get in touch and 05 we’ll tell you how we can help. If you’d like to take part in one of our stakeholder and customer panels – to give us Our main your views and help shape the services we provide – please see the contact details achievements below. We’ll help you to discover more about what we do: delivering a gas supply to 06 more than two million homes and businesses across the south west of England and Wales. Our job is to keep all our customers safe and warm. Our performance You can get in touch with our Stakeholder team by calling us on across regulated 02920 278546 or email engagement@wwutilities.co.uk output categories We look forward to hearing from you. Your views are important to us. 09 Delivering for You can visit our website at www.wwutilities.co.uk to find out more about us. our customers 10 Check out our Facebook page at facebook.com/wwutilities Looking to You can contact us here at any time, and we’ll post general news updates about what we are doing. the future 16 Follow us on Twitter @wwutilities to see our news – and please contact us here about anything you’d like to know or tell us about. Contact our Innovation team if you have a new idea for a product or research that might be relevant to what we do. Call Lucy Mason on 02920 278958 or email innovation@wwutilities.co.uk. To see what our challenges are visit www.wwutilities.co.uk/innovation Our Warm Home Assistance scheme can provide financial help with new connections to our gas network. You can find out more by emailing fuelpoor@wwutilities.co.uk or calling Stuart Neill on 02920 278713. People interested in joining our team can see the latest job vacancies on our website. Contact us by emailing recruitment@wwutilities.co.uk or calling Nicola Allen on 02920 278958. 2

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    Welcome from our Chief Executive Graham Edwards D oing our best for all customers and other stakeholders is at the heart of our business strategy. Our strong focus on engagement helps us to gain opinions and information that shapes our policies and plans. We want people to know that what they tell us makes a positive difference. It can improve the services we provide to our 7.5 million customers. We are a values-driven company. Safety is our key priority and people are at the core of everything we do. That means we always aim to achieve the best for colleagues, customers and a variety of stakeholders. Our leadership team This report details what we did during 2016/17, which was the mid-point of our current eight-year price-control period set by our regulator Ofgem. Our strong performance during the year has once again seen us win a Distinction rating from the Institute of Customer Service. Our focus on delivering top quality service for all our customers, including the most vulnerable, has also enabled us to become the first gas network to gain British Standard 18477 for Inclusive Service Provision. This recognises our work to make sure all colleagues are aware of the help we can offer to people in vulnerable situations. During 2016/17 we increased the opportunities for stakeholders to engage with us and comment on our performance and plans. It helped us to be confident that we focused on what our customers wanted us to do. Stakeholders have said that they trust us and know that what they tell us is listened to and acted upon. Our commitment is that in the years ahead we will continue to build on our successes to deliver the ever-improving standards of service our customers deserve. Graham Edwards 3

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    A bit about us W e deliver gas through our extensive network of pipes to homes, businesses and other organisations in Wales and the south west of England. Our job is to make sure that our 7.5 million customers are kept safe, warm, and receive a level of service they can trust. We don’t sell gas, we operate the gas pipe network through which people receive gas from their supplier (the company they pay their gas bill to). Safety is a key priority. We respond swiftly to gas emergencies and invest heavily to improve the quality of our network. Every day our skilled colleagues are replacing old metal pipes with new plastic ones – improving the reliability and safety of our gas network for many years to come. In winter, as much as 80% of the heat and power needed by homes and businesses comes from the gas network. We are making sure that we can meet that demand for the long term, providing a reliable, affordable and increasingly sustainable service. 4

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    Engaging with our stakeholders S takeholder engagement is a vital activity for us, and we base it on an “inside-out” strategy. That means we have developed a culture that always puts people first: both within our company and among the communities and organisations we serve. We greatly value our skilled workforce, which has embraced our determination to do our very best for customers and other stakeholders. We’ve continued to increase the number of stakeholders we consult with – listening to what they say about how we are doing and how we could improve. This growing amount of feedback greatly helps us to shape our operations and strategies. Our ambition, priorities and values OUR AMBITION To deliver outstanding levels of gas safety, reliability and customer service so that we are trusted and valued by the millions of people we serve every day. PRIORITIES Doing all Designing Demanding we can to Driving Delivering OUTSTANDING PROVIDE SERVICE FOR MONEY A RELIABLE We keep raising the GAS SUPPLY We spend money bar on safety, continually We work hard to give wisely based on what & PROMOTE SUSTAINABILITY looking for ways to improve our customers a reliable We invest in our people so will give the very best standards for our customers service and peace We are committed to providing that we all have the skills, value, every time. and colleagues. of mind by putting their a reliable gas supply for our confidence and innovative needs at the core of customers whilst protecting and thinking to build our business our business. helping the environment for long into the future. We want today and for the future. to be a company people aspire to work for. VALUES We put customers first We take pride We work as a team We bring energy We build trust by giving excellent We take ownership and are We build relationships with We approach all our work with service. Listening and taking accountable for our work, going colleagues and partners, share best enthusiasm, always challenging action on what our customers tell above and beyond to get great practice and encourage honest, ourselves to do better by embracing us. results. open conversations. new ideas and innovative solutions. 5

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    Our main achievements over the first four years of an eight-year price-control period, which began in April 2013: 347,255 7,448 45 46,365 1,748 Warm Home gas emergency Assistance apprentices new kilometres of call-outs connections recruited connections main replaced Important achievements for 2016/17: We were named Responsible The Royal Society for the Prevention Business of the Year by of Accidents gave us Gold Award Business in the Community Wales. Status for the fourth year in a row. We This was for our success in are the first gas network operator to embedding responsible business achieve this. As a company which prizes practices throughout our our excellent safety performance, we operations in Wales. were delighted to receive this accolade. The British Standards Institute awarded us BS18477 for Inclusive Service Provision. This was for our work to identify customers’ needs and adapt services for people who are disadvantaged or in vulnerable situations. We were greatly helped by the feedback we were given by stakeholders and partner organisations. We received the Institute of Customer Service’s Servicemark during the year. We gained this honour at Distinction Level for achieving a customer satisfaction score ServiceMark™ accredited far above the utility company average. It’s a testament to our commitment to engage with stakeholders, communicate effectively, and use feedback to pursue continuous improvement. 6

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    Our annual colleague engagement survey was carried out in conjunction with Investors in People. This was our first attempt to be measured against its standard and we were pleased to receive Silver Level accreditation. We have achieved all of this against a background of fuel poverty than originally allowed for (fuel poverty is continuing to provide good value for our customers and where people are left with an income below the official stakeholders. The average cost to our customers for poverty line after paying their fuel costs) 2016/2017, excluding inflation, was £128, which is less ● more targeted support to customers in vulnerable than the cost at the start of the current price-control situations period – £145. This reflects the efficiencies we are delivering. ● greater reductions in emissions by 2021 than originally planned We are also on target for outputs measured across the eight-year price-control period to 2021. After consulting ● further reductions in costs we can control, such as our stakeholders, we are committed to delivering extra our facilities costs. value in the areas they said were most important to We continue to deliver against our commitments and them. Over the rest of the eight-year period to 2021, we thank our customers and stakeholders for their will deliver: continuing support during the course of the year and ● funding for 20% more connections for customers in over the rest of the price-control period. Collaboration with other gas networks We actively collaborate with the other gas networks Launched the CO Charity Fund, offering across the UK, to deliver valuable outcomes for our grants of up to £2,000. stakeholders. Our collaboration and joint commitment is focused on: 535 additional customers referred to the Fuel Poor Network Extension Scheme since May 2015. ● supporting and protecting the communities we live and work in, and minimising our wider impact on the 674 entries in 2015/16 to the CO schools poster environment competition. ● going beyond what is expected of us, exceeding both our social and moral responsibilities, extending Current connected capacity collaboration to work with expert organisations and of biomethane has the ability to other sectors. power more than 277,000 homes. Our collaboration highlights Helped secure £25m for local authorities to support house measures, resulting in 4,000 new heating installations. Joint winners of the Heating & Ventilation News Safety Initiative of the Year Award for 2016 with CO-Gas Safety. 7

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    Overview of our achievements in the 2016/17 regulatory year (1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017) 81% OF COMPLAINTS RESOLVED IN 24 HOURS 5,496 90,000 homes CO ALARMS could be powered with green gas DISTRIBUTED 24 APPRENTICES RECRUITED ZERO OMBUDSMAN RULINGS 1,250 123 Priority Customers free-of-charge meter alterations 433km Awareness Training 4,600 Warm Packs issued to colleagues OF MAIN 1,596 Warm Home Assistance connections replaced More than 83,758 gas emergency call-outs 2,100 Gas emergency call-outs customers 98.5% attended within 1 hour added to PSR Compliance to licence obligations 100% CO AWARENESS 99.1% CO likelihood INCREASE 40% to take further action colleagues new 377 upskilled 11,933 8 connections

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    Performance across regulated output categories Expected outcome for Output Examples of achievement Overall assessment end of the price-control category this year for the reporting year period to 2021 • Outperformed our risk-reduction target by 79% in the first four years of the price-control period • One colleague missed work due to injury We expect to continue to • Fourth RoSPA Gold award in a row We continue to achieve or achieve, or exceed, our safety Safety exceed our safety outputs outputs throughout the • Attended more than 83,000 gas escapes within the one-hour or two-hour standards, more than 97% of the time price-control period • Achieved an Exemplar rating for our Major Hazard Safety Leadership from the Health & Safety Executive • Reduced our average planned interruption time by 30 minutes – from 230 We continue to achieve or minutes in 2015/16 to 200 minutes in 2016/17 exceed our reliability outputs, Continued improvement Reliability • Maintained the capacity in our gas network for the volumes of gas we’re and have maintained an and industry leadership contracted to deliver industry-leading performance in this area for our customers • Continued to reduce gas leaking from our network • Four new biomethane connections were made to our network in 2016/17 – We are on track to taking our total to 16 We continue to outperform our overall target Environment • Reduced fuel emissions from our fleet, through renewal programme achieve or exceed our to reduce gas leaking from our • Gained a renewed certification for Asset Management ISO 55001, for our environmental outputs network by 5% over the strategic planning for our approach to the next price-control period and the eight-year period significant challenges we face around the future of energy • Improved Ofgem Customer Satisfaction survey score from 9.05 in 2015/16 to 9.11 in 2016/17 • Resolved 81% of complaints within one working day, as well as decreased the number of complaints received by 4% We continue to achieve or Customer • Gained the reaccreditation of our Distinction Level for the Institute of Customer exceed our customer service Strive to be the top service Services’ ServiceMark outputs, and focus on adding gas network gradual improvement • Recovered more than £630,000 of “stolen gas” – more than double the 2015/16 figure – which is passed on to shippers to reduce overall transportation element of customers’ bills • Gained the British Standard for Inclusive Service Provision (BS18477) – the first gas network to achieve this • Completed 1,596 Warm Home Assistance connections in 2016/17, up from 1,559 in 2015/16 – we remain committed to increasing our Warm Home Assistance connections by 17% Social • 5,496 carbon monoxide alarms provided to customers in the most vulnerable situations across our network • Provided 4,600 Keep Warm Packs last year, making sure customers in the most vulnerable situations were supported during gas emergencies • Created new partnerships, with organisations such as the Fire & Rescue Services (currently working with six out of the seven in our network), to help us get our safety information to hard-to-reach customers • 99% connections quotations were issued within agreed standards of service We continue to achieve On track to achieve or Connections • Usage of our online quotations portal increased by around 17% on 2015/16 or exceed our outputs exceed our targets for the figures in each area eight-year period to 2021 • Invested 1.8 million on 34 innovation projects during 2016/17 Innovation • The Ductile Iron mains cutting tool project has been adopted by three of the four UK gas networks 9

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    Delivering for our customers W e engaged with a wide range of stakeholders during the year. What we learned from discussions and feedback was of great value to us. We have a dedicated team of engagement professionals who manage our relationships with stakeholders. During the year we made organisational changes to increase their resources and support. As a values-driven business we make sure that engagement is seen as a part of everyone’s job in our company. We run workshops and colleague roadshows to promote the message that we all have a role to play. In all our dealings with others we will listen and respond. It has helped us to develop services that have delivered added benefits. Helping customers in vulnerable situations We want to do all we can for customers who are in vulnerable situations. Stakeholders have told us they ● under 14 and over 65 support: ● in vulnerable situations for various reasons ● focusing on those who need most help ● living in CO “hotspots”– places with higher than ● making information easily accessible average CO-related emergency call-outs. ● building relationships with partners who can promote As part of this strategy, we created partnerships with our services four more Fire & Rescue Services in our area, taking our ● achieving a British Standard for the quality of our work. total to six out of seven. They meet people in vulnerable situations during their Home Safety Visits and can now provide them with CO alarms and information on our REVISED CARBON other support measures. MONOXIDE STRATEGY We were also able to identify relevant customers by A key outcome of the advice we received was a revision targeting people who receive Free of Charge meter of our carbon monoxide (CO) strategy – to focus on alterations and those who sign up to our Priority those most at risk. This includes people who are: Services Register. We provide them with free CO alarms. 10

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    CO SCHOOLS SAFETY COMPETITION We revitalised our approach to this industry- wide competition and greatly increased its impact. The competition is aimed at 5-11 year olds, a group which is particularly vulnerable to CO danger. They are challenged to produce a relevant poster, film, poem or song on CO danger. We promoted the competition by integrating news releases, a celebrity endorsement, social media activity and direct contact with 2,500 schools. The outcome was 317 entries – a more than four-fold increase over the previous year and more than any of the other gas networks. We also had a national winner. THE CODEBREAKERS Stakeholders at our locational workshops, as well as members of our Critical Friends’ Panel and Vulnerable Customers Forum, all told us that CO safety must be a top priority. In response we sought a new way to spread the safety message. We created an online game called “Crack the COde”, with two cartoon “superheroes” called Chloe and Ben. The game challenges users to answer CO safety questions to reveal letters that make up a code. Those who succeed are encouraged to spread the word on social media and they also receive a CO-related gift. User feedback indicated a 25% increase in awareness of CO danger and a 79% increase in commitment to take preventative action. PARTNERSHIPS Stakeholders told us they supported the development of new relationships with emergency services and charities, in order to engage with more hard-to-reach customers. We now have partnerships with six Fire & Rescue Services and work closely with several other organisations, including Wales Council for the Blind and Age Cymru. We created a Partners’ Pack containing easy to understand information about safety awareness and the various support measures we offer. The packs are used to make sure consistent information is given to relevant customers, and we receive partners’ feedback that helps us to identify more people who may be in vulnerable situations. CO safety information is also placed in charity magazines and event programmes. 11

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    Delivering for our customers quality standard. We chose to strive for BS18477 as STRONGER TOGETHER CONFERENCE validation that our services are accessible to all. Stakeholders at our Vulnerable Customers Forum told In formulating our policies we have benefited from the us that they’d like to see increased collaboration with advice received from our Vulnerable Customers Forum. other utility companies to help people in need. And, following an extensive BSI audit, we became the With the support of our fuel poor partner Warm Wales first gas network operator to gain this standard. we initiated the first multi-utility conference to focus on We make information about our services accessible this topic. It brought us together with Dŵr Cymru Welsh through various activities and measures. Water and electricity network operator Western Power Distribution. The 104 delegates who attended also represented housing associations, local authorities and PRIORITY charities. SERVICES The key outcomes were agreement to: REGISTER ● collaborate more A trial of a phone app to ● influence Government and industry regulators to allow colleagues to sign up create a unified Priority Services Register (PSR) customers easily to the PSR ● work with other organisations to engage with more was a great success. In July hard-to-reach customers in vulnerable situations. 2016 we equipped all customer-facing staff with the We are making progress to achieve these goals. app. This led to 2,100 referrals to the PSR during the year, and we expect to greatly increase the number this year. We share this information with other utility companies in our area, for the further benefit of customers. COLLEAGUE TRAINING In 2016/17 Priority Customers Awareness Training was given to 1,250 colleagues. This required 100 training INCLUSIVE PROVISION sessions at 19 locations. STANDARD BS18477 We also gave Dementia Friends training to 108 We believe that we do our best to colleagues, helping them to identify the signs of look after customers in vulnerable dementia and adapt accordingly the services situations – but we wanted the assurance of achieving a we provide. 12

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    WARM PACKS Following advice from stakeholders, we redesigned the Warm Packs that we issue to customers in vulnerable situations during a loss of gas supply. We made our contact number much more visible, to assist visually impaired people. We also listened to stakeholders who told us we should provide meal vouchers to such customers who choose not to use the heating and cooking appliances we provide. They now receive a £10 daily meal voucher for use in local shops if their gas supply is off. FREE OF CHARGE METER ALTERATIONS We provided £45,000 for this initiative so the charitable If people in vulnerable situations have gas meters that organisation Care & Repair could give energy and are hard for them to reach if they need to switch off the financial advice to the public. We helped 226 supply, we will, where possible, move the meter free of customers and plan to roll-out this initiative in other charge. We repositioned 123 meters during 2016/17 at parts of our network. a cost to Wales & West Utilities of £68,000. PROMOTING WARM HOME EASY-TO-UNDERSTAND ASSISTANCE COMMUNICATIONS We can provide free gas connections for people living in The information we provide must be accessible and areas defined as being in fuel poverty. It benefits them as easy to understand for people with a wide range of gas is typically cheaper than other fuels for heating. disabilities. That’s why we worked hard to achieve the Stakeholders at our Vulnerable Customers Forum BS18477 standard. encouraged us to do more to raise awareness of our Our website is Shaw scheme. Trust accredited for Our research showed that some people who applied, ease of accessibility, and who would have been eligible for free work, were and information leaflets follow the Plain English deterred by our system that quoted the cost of Campaign’s guidelines. We also use large fonts, Braille, connection. We therefore made changes so that we films with sign language, and can provide information in identified applicants’ postcodes in fuel poor areas, and several languages. work was quoted to them as free of charge. There has been an increase in eligible customers completing their FUEL POOR HUBS applications. Following feedback from stakeholders we trialled Fuel We promoted our scheme at 17 events last year and Poor Hubs in Cardiff and Flintshire. also further simplified information about it. 13

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    Delivering for our customers Customer service PERCEPTION RESEARCH During the year we engaged a company to assess the We want to give outstanding service to customers at all perception of our company by more than a thousand times, so we listen to what they say and take action. customers. It found that 37% of those who had received Key messages from stakeholders were to: services from us were unfamiliar with our brand, rising to ● make sure customers can contact us in the ways 39% among those we’d had no contact with. they choose Among other things, this led to a rebranding of our ● improve communication during disruptive work. vehicles, with explicit information about what we do and Stakeholder engagement and advice received resulted our role as the gas emergency service. During the year in 84 outputs including: 48 vehicles were rebranded and the process continues. ● new and easy-to-understand literature on the services we provide NEW COMMUNICATIONS In 2015/16 we carried out a “walk in our customers’ ● more resources for our social media team shoes” exercise. This aimed to give us the perspective of ● initiating knowledge-sharing best practice events. the people we serve. We reviewed all aspects of contact 14

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    and communication, to seek improvements – particularly during gas main replacement work. Emergency response Responding swiftly and efficiently to loss of supply and With stakeholder support, this has resulted in stronger gas emergencies is a vital duty for our company. branding and simplified information in letters and Stakeholders have told us to: leaflets. All have the Crystal Mark for Plain English. ● know more about the locations of customers in We hold “drop-in” public information sessions before vulnerable situations, so they can be prioritised in beginning schemes that have local impact. They enable emergencies people to ask questions and get all the information they want. ● share best practice with other gas networks ● always be prepared for major incidents affecting large CONNECTIONS numbers of customers. Stakeholders told us our As a result we: connection application forms and associated information ● held a “Sharing Best Practice” event could be better. We’ve ● revised our major incident team and processes rebranded and improved them, with 97% of ● improved our customer contact channels. customers later saying they’re easy to complete. IMPROVED COMMUNICATIONS Customers are invited to We’ve made sure our call centre can cope with the high give us feedback to help levels of contacts expected during a major incident. We achieve further can handle 120 calls at the same time – with a capacity improvements. to increase to 600. A major incident response page can immediately be added to our website, to keep CUSTOMER SUPPORT OFFICERS customers informed. Customer satisfaction analysis told us that During a major incident customers may be required to communication during gas main replacement work turn their gas supply off and then back on again. We’ve could be improved. We therefore trialled a “door created a simple “how to” leaflet which is posted knocking” exercise to communicate face-to-face with through doors in affected areas. people who would be affected by our work. It was very successful and resulted in no complaints. We’ve SHARING BEST PRACTICE therefore created four new roles of Customer Support Officers, to communicate directly with people where we We already co-operate with other gas networks and are work. now working with the Institution of Gas Engineers & Managers to develop an industry standard for managing major incidents. We’ve shared our major incident SOCIAL MEDIA planning with other gas network operators and also Customers increasingly use social media learned from their experiences. Development of this channels to communicate with us, so we’ve standard is ongoing. expanded our social media team. By working closely with colleagues elsewhere in the company the team can respond to customers on Twitter and Facebook for 24 hours a day. We monitor a customer enquiry mailbox around the clock. We’ve also created a complaints dashboard, giving real time information on what we are doing, to keep customers fully informed. 15

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    Looking to the future Colleagues Our stakeholders have said that they expect us to plan their experience to other colleagues. This helps future- to meet a future of rising customer expectations and proof colleagues’ skill-sets, while developing people to excellent environmental performance. Planning for the their full potential. years to come is very much a present day focus. SMART METER CAMPAIGN GRADUATE/APPRENTICE It’s planned that all UK homes will be offered smart RECRUITMENT energy meters by 2020. However, stakeholders at our Last year we recruited 24 apprentices and two locational workshops tell us that a barrier to their roll-out graduates – our engineers of the future, as part of a total is customer confusion and a lack of understanding of recruitment of 127 new colleagues. the potential benefits. To help address this we want to be sure that our own colleagues, who interact with the public in many ways, are well-informed. We created “A PATHWAYS COACHES Smarter Future” campaign so they know key details of We offer an internal coaching programme, where 24 the smart meter programme. As a result, colleagues’ colleagues, who have been trained as coaches, pass on awareness of smart meters increased by 57%. 16

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    Sustainable future We always look for ways to improve ● hosting a visit by the challenges we face. Injecting “green the services we deliver and minimise Government’s Business Energy & gas” into our network, such as gas our impact on the environment. Industrial Strategy Heat Team to produced from farm waste, is a discuss the environmental work cost-effective step towards Stakeholders have told us to: we are doing. sustainability. ● raise awareness of “green gas” – particularly among farmers and THE ROLE OF THE GAS ALTERNATIVE GAS landowners who can provide it NETWORK WORKSHOP ● continue to minimise our impact The increasing use of renewable Stakeholders at our locational on the environment energy is bringing together the workshops encouraged us to raise ● do more to promote the benefits traditionally separate electricity and awareness of sustainable gas of sustainable gas supply. gas industries. We are co-operating supply. We therefore hosted an This resulted in: to create a dynamic, flexible and industry-first Alternative Gas ● holding an Alternative Gas integrated energy system that will Workshop. It attracted attendees Workshop support a greener UK. from 64 organisations, as well as ● attending and speaking at We work together to share farmers, landowners, developers conferences about our “future of information on the technologies that and academics. Feedback forms energy” work will help to meet the environmental told us that 100% of attendees found the event “interesting” or “very interesting”. Gas or nuclear IMPROVING OUR IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT We enhance our environmental performance through our mains Liquid natural gas replacement programme. Last year Key we invested £64 million to replace Gas Electric 433 km of gas mains. This has helped us continue to reduce gas The past – separate gas and electricity network leaking from our network. PUBLICATIONS We have 16 biomethane connections, with the We have created a “green gas” capacity to power the equivalent 112,000 homes booklet to help people who want to connect their renewable gas supply to our network. We have 25 gas-fired Stakeholders have power stations, of which 21 are flexible been asked to ‘peaking plants’ comment on it for review. The future – an integrated gas/electricity energy network 17

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    Looking to the future Innovation was the adoption of a new excavation drill that greatly We are always looking for new and innovative ways to reduces vibration to the users. improve the services we provide to our customers and Our company is on the advisory panel of Flexis – a other stakeholders. £25 million European-funded Welsh project that Stakeholders have told us to: examines the development of smart energy distribution ● promote innovation in the gas industry more systems. ● collaborate more with other networks We jointly lead the FREEDOM project, a £5 million ● look at partnerships to renew the workforce. scheme that’s addressing market barriers to the adoption of low carbon heating. This resulted in: In partnership with others, we developed an “energy simulator” to model future energy supply and demand ● sharing innovative ideas at events requirements in specific locations. ● collaborating with other networks on a number of projects ENERGY & UTILITY SKILLS ● creating a partnership to make sure we have a workforce long into the future. PARTNERSHIP Stakeholders at our locational workshops suggested WORKING WITH OTHERS that we work with partners to be sure that we continue to have a skilled workforce in the years ahead. We co-operate with various organisations on future energy system projects. In 2016/17 we took part in 34 In partnership with the Energy & Utility Skills organisation innovation schemes. One was the development of a tool and others, we’ve created a Workforce Renewal and that cuts a “window” in iron gas mains, enabling easier Skills Strategy. It focuses on meeting our industry’s and faster replacement by durable plastic pipes. Another needs for a smart and sustainable future. 18

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    Notes 19

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    Wales & West House, Spooner Close, Celtic Springs, Coedkernew, Newport, NP10 8FZ Visit our website: www.wwutilities.co.uk Follow us on Twitter @wwutilities Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/wwutilities

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