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ESB NETWORKS LTD
April/May 2013 www.esb.ie/em
ESB NETWORKS WINS EPRI TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER AWARD AS LEADERS IN APPLIED INNOVATION AND ‘DRIVING PROGRESS IN THE ELECTRICITY SECTOR’
ESB NETWORKS WAS awarded an electricity Power Research Institute (EPRI) Technology Transfer Award for its Smart Networks projects, at a ceremony in Austin, Texas in February.
The EPRI Technology Transfer Awards recognise “the leaders and the innovators who have transferred research into applied results”. The awarding body, EPRI, are the world renowned authority in vital, progressive and collaborative research and innovation.
Utilities across the world are considered for these awards, based on their contribution to applied technology and analysis of the associated costs and benefits. This is an achievement which places ESB Networks’ work in Smart Network development at the fore of delivering technical solutions to ‘a problem of size and significance … to drive progress in the electricity sector and to provide meaningful benefits’.
The award was earned for Case Studies prepared and led by the ESB Networks Smart Networks team, based on their field demonstration projects in wind integration, Smart green Circuits networks efficiency and continuity, and smart metering. These detailed reports documented the technologies, approaches, results and lessons learned in these innovative projects, and were published in Q4 2012. Through this award, the Case Studies have been recognised as a valuable tool, detailing ESB Networks’ solutions for other utilities worldwide facing similar challenges.
The award places ESB Networks at the fore
The award was collected by Jerry O'Sullivan, Managing Director, on behalf of ESB Networks ltd at the ceremony which was held in conjunction with the electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) Power Delivery Unit programme advisory meeting.
This award consolidates the growing international reputation of ESB Networks as a leading company in technical innovation and the delivery of effective, proven solutions to the evolving challenges of power delivery.
The Case Studies were developed by the Smart Networks team and are based on the technologies, deployments and measured results of the Smart trials, which ESB Networks began in 2009. Amongst the innovative technologies and systems deployed were Wind Farm Volt/VAr management, self healing automated networks, conservation voltage reduction (CVR), smart self-tuning MV Arc Suppression systems, smart fault passage indicators, high-efficiency transformers and a range of other solutions. Deployment challenges addressed included communications, monitoring, assessment and remote operation.
This award could only have been achieved with the hard work, dedication and shared expertise of people from across ESB Networks. This expert insight is now documented and is being shared with utilities worldwide through the case studies.
ESB NETWORKS CUSTOMER CARE CENTRE (NCCC) OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE
» The continual outstanding performance of ESB Networks front line services is a critical factor to the success of our business, and none more so than the performance of ESB Networks Customer Care Centre (NCCC).
NCCC has been independently ranked as giving consistently outstanding customer service and recent surveys confirm this standing . NCCC staff manage up to 700,000 calls annually, over a diverse range of topics.
The overall performance of the NCCC under this measurement has continually improved and is now at 86% (See table). This is well in excess of the target of 80% set by CER and is considered by the independent reviewers to be a performance at the top end of Customer Care Centres world-wide .
In the Mystery Shopper Survey, 400 calls are made over the year to the NCC by a third-party agency. These callers are seeking to ensure that NCCC agents give correct, and thorough information on up to eight specific topics. If certain key areas are not covered by the agent, the score can be deemed as unacceptable. In 2012, NCCC came in with an overall score of 83% well ahead of the 80% target set by CER.
Customer's expectations are continuously growing and immediate and accurate information is key.
The overall performance of the NCCC under this measurement has continually improved and is now at 86%
In order to sustain this our high levels of performance, continual improvements on the channels providing customer service are being implemented, particularly in the areas of customer selfserve and ESB Networks proactively contacting customers. The introduction of a Social Media presence is planned for 2013 as well as the introduction of pro-active SMS text facility for fault information. These initiatives will further complement the existing services and the new PowerCheck App (www.esbPowerCheck.ie) service that was launched in 2012, where customers can get access to real-time outage information on-line. The development of additional self serve options, including the payment of invoices should all enhance the customer experience.
The impact of the professional, polite and informative customer engagement skills has far reaching positive implications for the ESB Network business and indeed ESB group.
The quality of the NCCC's performance is measured independently by two surveys carried out for the energy regulator (CER): a call-back survey and a mystery shopper survey. n the call-back survey, around 800 customers who have recently had an interaction with NCCC are “called back” by a third party and four key metrics are independently assessed:
• Accuracy of Information
• Usefulness of Information
• Politeness
• Willingness to help
While the channels of communications are changing and growing, the core customer service values and qualities are applicable across all channels for delivering outstanding service. The NCCC staff, along with all our front line staff, will continue to use their excellent customer service skills to be great ambassadors for ESB Networks.
KEY CUSTOMER SERVICE PERFORMANCE INDICES AND PROGRESS OVER 7 YEARS
Indicator (units) 2005 2012
Care Centre Telephone answering within 20 seconds (%) 63% 89.4%
Care Centre Telephone Contacts Abandoned (%) 13% 3.7%
Supplier Queries cleared in two working days (%) 50% 96%
Complaints cleared in five working days (%) 60% 99%
Number of Customer Complaints (No.) 8978 2137
Customer satisfaction (Red C / MORI survey) (%) 68% 83.75%
New Connection time from Payment to Connection (weeks) 21 12
New Connection Charter Payments (No.) 2612 1003
Total Charter Payments (No.) 11170 3016
Supplier jobs within SLA (%) 65% 85%
