Vulnerable customers are a priority

Our aim is to provide real solutions to help our residential customers on low incomes who are in danger of suffering from fuel poverty. The official definition of fuel poverty is when more than 10% of a household's income needs to be spent on energy.

We provide practical advice and solutions for the most needy

We believe that working together with customers is the most powerful way to effectively address fuel poverty. Our CaringEnergy team is therefore dedicated to helping such customers get the practical and effective support they need, when they need it. This includes energy efficiency advice and measures, a benefits entitlement check, a priority service register as well as a range of tariff and payment options. In 2007, we helped 21,000 customers through the CaringEnergy service and within the service over 1600 customers have benefitted from a Benefits Entitlement check.

We also provide access to grants and schemes run by other organisations, in addition to our own £2 million CaringEnergy fund which was launched in February 2006 and runs over three years. Here, we help by paying for the cost of repairing or installing heating systems, especially if it's an unsafe gas heating system. Alternatively, we could help out by providing free home insulation or by paying for an essential household appliance. During 2007, we spent an average of just over £800 each on more than 300 customers.

Over the years, we've worked closely with the UK charity Age Concern, a leading charity providing help and support for the elderly, to continue to demonstrate our commitment to those customers who could potentially be more vulnerable. Here, we've worked together to provide competitive gas and electricity benefits dedicated to meeting the needs of older people.

These include a guaranteed cold weather payment of £10 for all gas customers, whilst those aged 60 or over may receive a greater payment based upon the number of days the temperature is below zero between December and February. Last year we made cold weather payments totalling around £2.5 million to customers, and going forward this figure is likely to go up as we increase the Cold Weather Payment to all Age Concern gas customers over the age of 80 from £10 to £20.

All customers on our Age Concern product also receive a free early warning hypothermia thermometer and four free low energy light bulbs, and all are eligible for further reduced energy efficiency measures.

Another energy product designed with older people in mind is our StayWarm tariff. Exclusively designed for the over-60s, StayWarm offers customers a fixed price for all their energy by monthly Direct Debit. The amount they pay is based on the number of people who live in their home and the number of bedrooms their home has. We guarantee that as long as they remain with StayWarm, the price they pay will be fixed for 12 months from when they sign up.

During 2007, we continued to hold prices for medium and high-user Staywarm customers on benefits, even though their consumptions would have warranted a price increase. These customers are amongst the most vulnerable of fuel poor customers. All are over 60, many live on their own and they require discounts of several hundred pounds as a means of alleviating fuel poverty. This support scheme was recognised by Ofgem as a substantial social benefit in their two reviews of supplier initiatives in 2007.

A wide range of additional measures are also available to help other vulnerable customer groups. In 2007, the Home Heat helpline offered free advice to people concerned about paying their energy bills. All six of the major gas and electricity suppliers support this service, which is staffed by 35 specially trained advisers, many of whom are ex-nurses and social workers. The helpline advisers also have access to community-based organisations that provide social welfare support on a number of matters including housing, health and finance.

Our employees also carry out around 1,650 home visits each year, with another 520 being carried out by agents on our behalf. A home visit is triggered by a number of factors, including lack of contact from a customer we believe to be vulnerable, difficulty in obtaining relevant information and/or setting up a payment arrangement. We believe that a face-to-face approach is the best way of working through any issues or problems a customer may be facing.

We've also formed strong relationships with many charities and support organisations over the years and have committed time and funding to enhance the lives of vulnerable and potentially vulnerable customers. These include National Energy Action, Energy Efficiency Partnership for Homes, the Electricity Association and Carbon Monoxide Partnership for Homes.

With regard to carbon monoxide, we've worked hard to raise awareness of the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning through our membership of the Carbon Monoxide Consumer Awareness Alliance. We provided over 20,000 carbon monoxide alarms to customers and gave away 3,000 more through the national and regional press to raise awareness.

We're always concerned for our customers' welfare in times of power loss and continue to operate our pioneering customer support vehicles throughout our area. These vehicles are on constant standby to provide 24-hour support, when incidents leave customers without a power supply for a period of time. We also have around 10,000 customers who are deaf or hard of hearing, so we have further improved this service by carrying portable hearing loops on each of our vehicles. We have a close relationship with the Women's Royal Voluntary Service (WRVS) to provide assistance to vulnerable customers during a power cut.