Vulnerable Customers

We are committed to helping vulnerable and low income customers. The Government defines ‘fuel poverty’ as those households that spend 10% or more of their income on energy bills. In 2008, the Government decided to increase its expectation of electricity suppliers’ spend on social assistance. In response to Government’s decision, we pledged to spend around £50 million over the following three years on a voluntary commitment to Government, to help those living in fuel poverty. In 2011, the energy regulator Ofgem published a report on energy suppliers’ social obligations and this showed that npower had actually spent over £58 million on assistance for vulnerable households during this period.

In April 2011, a new scheme called the Warm House Discount Scheme was introduced to replace the voluntary commitment. npower’s contribution to the scheme will rise to around £140 million over the next four years, which will mean an annual contribution in the first year of around £30m, rising to around £40m by the end of the scheme – roughly twice our commitment from the last year of the voluntary commitment.

Since 2008, our Spreading Warmth programme has aimed to provide help to those that really need it the most, and to help as many vulnerable customers as possible within the agreed financial boundaries.

In addition, npower’s Health Through Warmth Scheme identifies vulnerable people living in cold and damp homes and helps them by supporting the installation of heating and insulation measures. These vulnerable people do not need to be npower customers to access help.

In 2011, we spent over £28 million to help the most vulnerable through our Spreading Warmth programme, Warm Home Discount, npower Energy Fund and Health Through Warmth Scheme. Although we report on the KPI of our obligated spend – which we exceeded in year end March 2011 – the Health Through Warmth Scheme and the npower Energy Fund are both npower initiatives in addition to this vulnerable customer spend.

The majority of this investment went towards discounts for over 130,000 customer accounts registered on the Spreading Warmth Tariff and over 75,000 customers receiving the £120 Warm Home Discount. Overall, our Spreading Warmth programme helped over 350,000 customers during 2011.

We also provided a number of services in 2011 which were in addition to our voluntary commitment to Government, including our home advisors who made home visits and attended community talks and events last year, giving help and advice on energy efficiency and bills.

npower & Macmillan Fuel Management Programme

Since 2007, we have been working in partnership with our corporate charity, Macmillan Cancer Support, on our Fuel Management Programme. This helps npower customers living with cancer and in fuel poverty better manage their energy.
Through the Macmillan helpline, customers can find out if they are eligible for the programme and will be set up on a manageable payment plan below 10% of their income. The programme can help to reduce their bills, help customers to manage any arrears and help to make their home more energy efficient. We can also offer a full benefits check.

To date over 700 customers have benefited from the Fuel Management Programme since this scheme began.

Working with our stakeholders

Fuel poverty is often associated with other issues affecting a household’s ability to heat their home at a healthy and acceptable level. We work with a number of organisations, including NGOs and charities, to ensure that they are aware of our products and services, and work together to ensure that support reaches those who need it.

In 2011, we accepted referrals from over 30 trusted third parties, including Citizens Advice and Age UK.

We continue to work closely with the Energy Retail Association to support and co-fund the Home Heat Helpline, which gives people one number to call, free of charge, for independent help and advice about managing their fuel bills.

We worked with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC), to deliver an industry-wide Warm Home Discount Scheme, which provided rebates to pensioners over 70 who receive the guarantee element of Pension Credit.