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| Welcome to your May Stakeholder Update. | |  | Dear stakeholders,
With some nice weather returning and school holidays, many people will be hoping to enjoy the outdoors over the coming weeks and months. Electricity North West is once again reminding people to be cautious around the power network by looking out, looking up, and taking note of its substations and yellow danger of death signs. We want everybody to enjoy the great outdoors safely and take note of their surroundings. For more safety advice, including a safety game for kids, go to www.enwl.co.uk/safety. We have recently relaunched our resources aimed at primary and secondary school children which people can find here including new workshops delivered in schools.
This month we share insights from our latest stakeholder engagement satisfaction survey with which showed 79% satisfaction with their relationship with Electricity North West. Thank you if you took part.
There's also updates from our Customer Voice feedback panel and the DSO and Innovation teams, including the launch of our new DSO newsletter sign up here and the Ofgem DSO survey. We are proud to be a partner of the UK Business Climate Hub providing decarbonisation support for SMEs take part in their census here.
We are proud to announce the re-launch of our ESG approach – our responsible business framework with key focuses on our people, customers, environment, communities and corporate governance and greater alignment to the UN Sustainability Goals. Plus, the launch of our spring flexibility tender and the return of the Powering or Communities fund with £100,000 available to community and local energy groups.
May has also been a month where we have met many of you in person at events such as Utility Week Live and UKREiiF. Missed us at those? There is an opportunity to meet us in June at the Northern Sustainability Summit.
You'll find more information on these and other stories below including a roundup of news and updates from our partners.
In this month's newsletter...
Best wishes
The Stakeholder Engagement Team | | | | Stakeholder Engagement Satisfaction Survey | |  | Our stakeholder engagement strategy works to deliver the outcomes our stakeholders prioritise and value. Since the launch of our Stakeholder Satisfaction Survey in December 2020, stakeholders have highlighted several areas for improvement, which we have listened to and updated our approach, as set out on our website HERE.
We would like to thank the 176 stakeholders that took part in this year’s independently administered satisfaction survey. On average 79% of stakeholders are satisfied with the relationship they have with us, rising to 87% among those engaging more often, which is an increase of 2% on both scores from the previous year.
The survey revealed that stakeholders in Local Authorities would like to speak to us more frequently about the topics that impact them, so there are plans in place to enable us to have more bilateral meetings with them in the future. The results made it clear that everybody’s time is precious, so we are going to be mindful of meeting lengths, prioritise online meetings, where appropriate, and ensure we issue pre-release material in a timely fashion. We are also going to work hard at evidencing a line-of-sight between feedback loops and action taken.
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| DSO update | Following our April 2024 conference, where over 100 attendees expressed a desire for regular updates, we're thrilled to introduce our first Distribution System Operation (DSO) newsletter. Sign up HERE.
The transition to Distribution System Operation (DSO) signifies a collective shift towards more proactive and adaptable methods of managing electricity networks. This forward-thinking approach promotes increased flexibility, enabling the seamless integration of renewable energy sources like solar and wind power. It represents a significant stride towards realizing a sustainable energy future.
Additionally, Ofgem's DSO Stakeholder Survey, conducted with Explain, is now open for participation. Keep an eye out for your chance to contribute.
You can read the first edition of the new DSO newsletter HERE. | |  | | Positive change through responsible business | | We’re excited to announce the re-launch of our responsible business framework aligned to our ED2 commitments.
Since 2019, our commitment to be a responsible business has been central to our operations, driving positive change across social, economic and environmental areas.
Responsible business isn't just part of our regulated operations, it forms the foundation of our licence to operate, aiming to minimise negative impacts and maximise positive outcomes. It’s not an initiative, it’s who we are and how we operate - with everyone across our business contributing and benefiting from this.
The new framework has a key focus on ESG (environmental, social and governance) reporting and aligns our efforts and goals to the United Nations sustainable development goals.
Read more about how we are empowering change HERE. | | |  |
| Leading the way in energy innovation | In October 2023 and March 2024 we won £1m and £300k respectively for Strategic Innovation Fund projects tackling decarbonisation challenges across the North West and these projects are now coming to a close.
The Net Zero Terrace project explores affordable low carbon heating and power for terraced streets and we will be looking at further funding to continue this research.
The RetroMeter project focuses on the development of an accurate method to calculate the financial and energy savings from retrofitting energy efficiency measures, e.g. insulation, with a view to increasing their uptake. This work has wider societal benefits and we will be supporting any future investigations.
The LDES-NODE project developed a proof-of concept mapping tool to display the best location to install emerging energy storage technologies onto our network. The CoolDown project carried out an early assessment into the effect that the increased use of air conditioning will have on network capacity.
We're delighted to have won the Whole Energy System Innovation award alongside colleagues from Kelvatek for our use of AI technology to accelerate the rollout of low carbon technologies for customers. The Regen Green Energy Awards, held in March, are a leading national celebration of the innovative technologies pioneering companies use to deliver a zero carbon future for all.
You can contact our Innovation Team HERE. | | | The Customer Satisfaction Assessment Tool (CSAT) is one of the ways we measure how happy our customers are with the services we provide. | |  | Ofgem measure our performance using a set of survey questions covering the following areas - planned supply interruptions, unplanned interruptions, connections and general enquiries. The surveys are carried out with customers on the phone with questions around ease of contact, communication, process explained, promptness of dates etc.
We achieved our highest ever customer satisfaction score of 94.1% in May 2023 and reached our annual budget target of 92% in March 2024, placing us fifth in the network operator league table, which is our best ever performance.
By collecting feedback through CSAT surveys, we can identify areas where we’re doing well and where we might need to improve. This helps us to make informed decisions to better serve our customers.
Visit our customer voice feedback panel HERE. | | | | Electricity North West announces spring flexibility tender, expanding opportunities and highlighting network efficiency success | Electricity North West has secured £20 million in deferred network reinforcements over the past 12 months through flexibility contracts. Building upon this success, we have launched our 2024 spring tender for flexibility services. Full details on the spring tender, including the interactive flexibility map showcasing our latest requirements and the ability to book a one-on-one discussion, can be found Electricity North West’s website: Latest Requirement - Flexible Services.
Read the full article HERE. | | | Blackrod pupils taught to ‘Look up, Look out’ | Primary school youngsters were inspired and educated about the importance of safety around electrical assets at a recent session. Engineers from Electricity North West visited Blackrod Primary School and talked to pupils about the potential hazards and highlighted the significance of staying safe around electrical assets.
For more information about how Electricity North West is linking in with primary schools and to try its Safety Squad game, visit HERE.
Read the full article HERE. | | | £100,000 available for community energy projects | Record funding is now available for groups and organisations looking to deliver community energy projects across the North West.
Electricity North West has brought back its popular Powering our Communities for a seventh time with £100,000 up for grabs to support communities to develop their energy projects by providing early stage funding to help get their projects going. That might include developing a local plan, engagement activities, overcoming a specific barrier, feasibility studies or business plan development.
Read the full article HERE.
To apply, visit www.enwl.co.uk/funding. | | | Green Enterprise Hub | Join The Westmoreland & Furness Green Enterprise Hub, as part of ‘Great Big Green Week’ for an exciting event to learn how to save money on your bills, attract a 'green' audience, and retain staff with a sustainable development mission. Don't miss out on this valuable opportunity!
This event is open to all Small to Medium Enterprises, and Social Enterprises (including charities with a paid member of staff) in the Westmorland and Furness area and is your chance.
Date: 11 June, 4.00pm-6.00pm
For more information and to register, click HERE. | | | The UK Net Zero Business Census | In collaboration with partners like Electricity North West, the UK Business Climate Hub has Launched The UK Net Zero Business Census.
Don't miss your opportunity to participate – you can get involved until 30 June by visiting The UK Net Zero Business Census website: netzerocensus.co.uk.
This census initiative seeks to set a standard for the private sector's role in achieving the UK's national goal of net zero emissions by 2050. The information gathered through this census will be shared with policy makers, investors, and business executives to provide insights into our nation's progress toward a net zero future. | | | Bee Net Zero |
- SMEs in Greater Manchester are invited to apply for a new Energy Efficiency Grant from UK Green Economy to support the delivery of energy efficiency improvement projects. Learn more HERE.
- Transport for Greater Manchester (Bee Network) has launched its second Business Travel Survey to better understand how businesses feel about the current public transport & active travel network in GM. Take the survey HERE.
- Join UK Green Economy for a discussion on the circular economy at NatWest's "A Spotlight on the Circular Economy" event. Hear from innovative businesses driving sustainability and learn about available funding for SMEs. For more information and to register, click HERE.
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