National Grid 2010 Annual Report Download - page 8

6 National Grid Gas plc Annual Report and Accounts 2009/10
In 2009, we sought feedback from our transmission customers
to understand what it was like to do business with us. They told
us in a lot of cases we perform well and are knowledgeable
about the industry. However, in a number of cases we let them
down by our actions – including not communicating effectively
and not being accessible. Using the data we gathered, a
programme for 2010 has been developed to drive change in our
customer focus. The programme sets out clear commitments to
our customers, is driven and supported by senior management,
and provides accountability and ownership for our employees.
A customer focused Transmission business will ensure we can
be flexible in meeting the challenges of our changing customer
base. It will allow us to respond proactively to customer
requirements by meeting requests wherever we can. In cases
where the regulatory frameworks prevent us from doing so, we
will explain clearly the reasons and will work with the industry to
adapt the frameworks for the future.
In UK Gas Distribution, we have a programme to improve
customer service levels. This includes increased staff training,
reviewing our processes to make them more customer focused,
and a review of all our communications with customers. In
addition, we are providing increased support to leaders to assist
them as they engage with employees on the importance of
customer service. An example of this is a short film that has
been produced explaining the important role that all employees
play in delivering an excellent customer service.
We recognise the difficulties the current state of the economy
has caused many of our customers. We understand we have an
obligation to balance the payment needs of our customers with
our financial responsibility to our shareholders, our regulatory
commissions and our remaining customer base. To help
balance these needs, we have been implementing a
comprehensive bad debt mitigation strategy which includes
focusing on early intervention and customer risk segmentation
allowing us to better match appropriate collection strategies to
individual customers.
Regulator
Our regulator Ofgem is concerned with ensuring we can and do
provide a safe, reliable and efficient service to our customers.
Our ability to deliver that service, and to deliver returns to our
investors, depends on our relationship with the regulator. Our
focus on customer service and operational excellence is a
critical component of our relationship with our regulator,
underpinning the building of trust. This involves being
responsive to the needs of our regulators for high quality
information, complying with rules and regulations, operating in
an ethical way, responding constructively to consultations and,
most importantly, delivering on our promises. We continue to
work very closely with Ofgem on the renewal of our gas
transmission and gas distribution networks, and on expanding
those networks to meet new and changing demand.
Suppliers
We aim to work in partnership with our suppliers, developing
constructive relationships and working together effectively. Our
objective is to develop contractual arrangements with our
suppliers that align their interests with our own as far as
possible and share financial risks appropriately.
Considering the environmental impact as part of our
procurement decision making is key to developing our
leadership position on climate change issues. We are
developing a strategy to measure and reduce our supply chain
carbon emissions.
Community involvement
We continue to participate in National Grid’s community
involvement programmes, details of which can be found in the
National Grid plc Annual Report and Accounts 2009/10.