RP7 Stakeholder Consultation WEB - Flipbook - Page 10
Maintaining a safe, reliable
and resilient network
Our electricity network consists of
approximately 2,200km of transmission
network and 46,000km of distribution
network, serving all 900,000 electricity
customers in Northern Ireland.
This network consists of a range
of specialised equipment including
overhead line conductors, wooden
poles, steel towers (sometimes referred
to as pylons), underground cables,
circuit breakers and power transformers.
A significant proportion of the network
was built between the 1950’s and
1970’s; and many network assets,
having been maintained to maximise
their working life, will soon need
replacement.
to the increasing impact of climate
change, illustrated in recent times by
the impact of Storms Arwen and Barra
on customers in Scotland and the north
of England, and the wildfires caused
by the record-breaking heatwave in
July 2022. It is important that we invest
in the resilience of the network and
are mitigating against the impact of a
changing climate on the network during
the RP7 period.
Finally, we are acutely aware of the
cost of living crisis currently facing our
customers. Throughout RP7 we will
aim to deliver the network reliability and
resilience expected by our stakeholders
at minimum cost by exploring all viable
alternatives to conventional asset
replacement.
•Key theme #1: Protecting
vulnerable customers. We will aim
to ensure a fair energy transition for
all, with no customers left behind.
•Key theme #2: Digitalisation –
making it easy for customers
to do business with us. We will
ensure that our customers can
engage with us in the most relevant
and convenient way for them.
•Key theme #3: Enabling our
customers to become more
active in their energy usage. We
will ensure customers have the
opportunity to make best use of
new connected technologies, to
effectively manage their energy
consumption.
The eight proposed commitments to
our customers are as follows:
Whilst asset age is not a reason in itself
to qualify an asset for replacement,
assets tend to deteriorate in condition
significantly when approaching or
exceeding the limit of their designed
lifespan. The condition of many of these
older assets are such that investment in
their refurbishment and replacement will
be required in RP7 and RP8 to maintain
the high levels of network reliability and
resilience.
Accordingly, during RP7 our planned
asset programme will aim to –
•adhere to relevant safety, legislative
and environmental requirements;
3.Provide tailored support for
vulnerable customers.
The changes in remote working patterns
resulting from the pandemic and the
move towards decarbonisation, means
that, as a society, we are becoming
increasingly more reliant on electricity
than ever before. This in turn, places
greater importance on the reliability and
resilience of our network in providing a
secure electricity supply that meets the
needs of our customers.
•
4.Educate and support customers
with the energy transition.
This increasing societal reliance on
electricity will also present a step
change in the volume of work on, or
in connection to, our network, with an
increasing number of interactions by our
customers, third party LCT installers, as
well as our own staff and contractors.
It is imperative that we aim to provide
a ‘Zero Harm’ environment for all those
interacting with our network throughout
the RP7 period and beyond.
We are also mindful of wider global
trends and risks to our network.
Electricity networks are not immune
•maintain network performance by
continuing with programmes to
replace and refurbish assets in poor
condition whilst considering the
impact of overall network resilience;
optimise asset lives; and
•maximise opportunities to deliver
efficiencies within our business.
Meeting the needs of our
customers
We are committed to delivering
meaningful and tangible outcomes
and improvements for customers
that (a) meet the requirements of
the Utility Regulator’s Consumer
Protection Programme4 and Best
Practice Framework5 and, (b) reflect
our customers’ priorities, as identified
through ongoing engagement with
customers and stakeholders.
We have set out eight commitments
to our customers for the RP7 period
(2025-2031), all of which are clearly
linked to three key themes at the heart
of our customer service approach:
1.Enhance our customer experience
by improving our communication
channels.
2.Improve our response to our
customers.
5.Improve our connections services.
6.Advocate for the introduction of a
Customer Satisfaction Incentive in
Northern Ireland to deliver improved
customer service performance.
7.Continue to use customer feedback
to develop customer commitments
that mean the most to our
customers.
8.Deliver on solutions for customers
affected by severe bird fouling
problems recognising that this
issue causes significant distress to
these customers.
You can read more about our
commitments on page 42.
4
https://www.uregni.gov.uk/files/uregni/media-files/Consumer%20Protection%20Programme%202019WEB.pdf
5
https://www.uregni.gov.uk/files/uregni/documents/2022-01/bpf-approach-paper.pdf
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Northern Ireland Electricty Networks
