We provide water, wastewater services and renewable power service, to a population of 4.24 million household customers and 210,000 business customer accounts across the UK. Customer needs and priorities are the cornerstone of these services, driving us to continually work to improve customer satisfaction across all our businesses.
Listening to our customers and understanding their service expectations is a key part of that. The results of customer workshops, customer satisfaction surveys and focus groups have helped us identify and implement a wide range of customer services improvement measures across the Group.
We engage regularly with our customers on service quality, cost of service, value for money and our strategy. This includes regularly conducting customer satisfaction surveys, holding focus groups, co-creation workshops and convening forums, providing ongoing feedback to our teams to recognise good service and make improvements where needed.
With the introduction of WaterShare+ as part of our 2020-25 business plan, customers now have a tangible stake and a say in the business, including the opportunity to participate in a customer Annual General Meeting, the first of which was held in the autumn of 2021. We also engage with key trade and customer bodies, including CCW(1) – the voice for water consumers. We have a well-established independent WaterShare customer panel which reviews and challenges our performance against our business plan commitments and, to support the development of our five-year business plan, we have established an independent WaterShare+ advisory panel.
Pennon Group has been committed to supporting its customers and stakeholders. It has provided £100 million in financial support to customers and remains focused on affordability and eradicating water poverty in the region and has proposed our largest ever package of support within our Draft PR24 Business Plan. The unique WaterShare+ scheme, which allows customers to become shareholders, has received strong support and aligns with the Group's philosophy of ensuring customers benefit directly.
The Group continues to prioritise efficiency in delivering services while keeping bill increases well below inflation. It has successfully kept customer bills lower than they were 10 years ago, as it pledges to eradicate water poverty.
Pennon Group recognises the importance of engaging with stakeholders, listening to their needs, and reflecting their priorities in business plans and operations. It remains committed to building trust and transparency through regular two-way dialogue and implementing stakeholder-centric strategies.
Customer Eco-efficiency programmes
South West Water and Bristol Water run initiatives to educate and engage with our customers on steps which can be taken to save water and save money on their bills. We offer free water-saving products to all our customers in the South West and offer free home audits to high consumption households to help them reduce their water usage. We also run educational initiatives such as Think Sink! and Love Your Loo, which provides guidance on how to prevent blockages in pipes and sewerage networks, which in turn reduces flooding and pollution in our local environment.
South West Water water efficiency: https://www.southwestwater.co.uk/services/save-water/
Bristol Water water efficiency: https://www.bristolwater.co.uk/every-drip-every-drop
SES Water water efficiency: Saving water | SES Water