Scottish and Southern Energy Power Distribution (SSEPD), which runs and maintains the electricity network for nearly 3.7m people in England and Scotland, is offering its customers the chance to become the voice of the people it serves.
SSEPD has 2.9m customers in central southern England and 750,000 in northern Scotland and Highlands. It is now looking for a varied cross-section of its customers to join its Customer Voice Groups (CVG), to share their views and concerns with the company. There are two groups, one for central southern England, the other for Northern Scotland and Highlands. Every three months the groups meet with senior executives to provide feedback on the company’s performance and services, and also to suggest where improvements could be made.
Each group consists of individual customers, charities and organisations whose members are SSEPD’s customers. CVG is chaired by Stuart Hogarth, Managing Director of Distribution at SSEPD.
“Customers are at the very heart of our business. We want to hear from them so that we can tailor and improve our services to meet their needs. They don’t need to be energy experts – just users of electricity, it really is as simple as that,” explained Stuart. “Over the last year we’ve held a series of successful meetings across our premises, which have given our customers an insight into our business. However, if this success is to continue then we need to add to our membership so it’s even more representative of the communities we serve.”
James Lloyd who has been a member of the group in England since its inception said: "Joining the Customer Voice Group has opened my eyes to the challenges network distribution companies face, and I have been able to actively contribute to a variety of solutions within the company that helped customers. SSEPD has learnt first-hand what customers want, and it has benefited both of us.”
Andrew Faulk is a member of the CVG in Scotland and also joined when his group was first set up. He said: “The best thing about this group is that it has become a valuable tool for the company to get an insight into the changing needs of its customers. And my input has been used by SSEPD to deliver customer focused solutions.”
Membership of the Customer Voice Group is voluntary and SSEPD meets reasonable expenses for attending meetings, which are held at a number of locations across the company’s distribution areas of central southern England, and northern Scotland and Highlands.
If you would like to join a CVG then email: Stakeholder.engagement@SSE.com