By Lloyd Day
Public reaction to two announcements this week – the upcoming rises to water bills and the government’s decision to shelve plans for the compulsory implementation of smart meters – have one thing in common: utilities customers want to see more ‘bang for their buck’ and better understand where the money they are being asked to pay is going.
Customers want to know what return they will see on the major infrastructure investments that utilities providers undertake on their behalf and how these changes are going to affect them. This hunger for information goes well beyond the remit of the traditional statement, and, even for those with the information at their fingertips, the myriad of available tariffs to compare can make this information confusing.
Thankfully, the transparency of customer billing is an issue that the industry is taking seriously. In the energy market,
Customers expect clear and concise communications from their utility providers
Ofgem is pushing for a model bill that enables customers to compare suppliers more easily. While Ofwat has made clear it will take action against water companies who fail to deliver on their investment promises.
The suppliers themselves also seem to be on board with the initiative. Eon, for example, has recruited former Asda and Royal Mail boss Allan Leighton as Chairman of its independent customer council, and set him the task of coming up with an easy to understand energy bill for its 5.5million customers. This is great news for consumers and for the industry as a whole, as where one of the Big Six leads the others tend to follow.
Whether the main driver proves to be regulatory or commercial, it appears the will is there for the utilities sector to become more accountable, tackle the issue of the complexity around its billing and enhance the way it communicates with customers. The task now will be to develop the relevant processes and systems across the organisation that makes future interactions with customers more clear and transparent, and ultimately helps restore customer trust.
I’d be interested to know whether you think we’ll see positive progress in this area and what the long term repercussions will be for the sector.
Well, the main reason of high water bill which I found is the water leakages in our premises. If one is able to detect and fix each and every leak then surely he will gonna reduce large amount of its water bill.