The 2017 incarnation of the Wipro and Utility Week Technology and Innovation Council met in London for a relaunch dinner and first meeting of the year.

The council – which previously helped produce the Utility Week and Wipro Innovation report titled Innovation in UK Utilities: a State of the Nation Report – set out to tackle issues including the role of the customer in innovation, getting new ideas from the drawing board into business as usual (BAU) practice, and balancing risk and reward.

The first topic for discussion was customer-led innovation and what it means for UK utilities.

There was a consensus among council members that vulnerable customers should be the focus of innovation efforts because they stand to gain the most. It was noted that in some instances, innovation has excluded the vulnerable, and benefited only those able to buy into the new technologies.

Digitisation was another key topic. The impact it is having is significant, with its effect in other sectors leading to rapidly changing consumer demands and expectations that utilitieas are striving to meet and keep up with.

However, rather than just using consumer groups or panels to monitor and assess these needs, council members stated that technology allows utilities to track the impact of the way consumers use and engage with their utilities, particularly those in vulnerable circumstances. Technology can be especially insightful in the case of customers who otherwise find it hard to engage.

There was an energetic discussion among council members about the focus on BAU and the balancing act between risk and reward that can foster – or potentially stifle – innovation.

Some saw BAU as the natural indicator of success for new technologies and innovative ideas, saying that if something has been adopted into daily practice, is has been a worthwhile exercise. However, others argued that it was then difficult to measure the impact of a technology, and that if getting to BAU was the main focus, other more beneficial opportunities may be glossed over.

More significantly, the risk/reward paradox is something some of the council said utilities, as well as regulators, are struggling to grasp.

“Utilities are the essence of society” was a phrase frequently mentioned in the discussions, with the electricity, gas, and water services they provide essential to modern life. “It is a disaster if there is a break in service.”

With this weighing on their minds, utilities may be seen as naturally risk averse and conservative, unwilling to do anything that may upset the status quo and ultimately lead to disruptions and potentially penalties for poor service.

This is where council members said the regulator had to take a greater role, by giving utilities the space and opportunity to innovate – and fail – without fear of penalties or repercussions.

“Failure is a vital learning tool, although it is viewed negatively in the UK,” said one council member.

The final point raised was the need for the sector to broaden its horizons and look to other industries for inspiration – and collaboration. This would reduce the initial innovation risk, and potentially increase the rewards from the new technologies.

Views from the top table:

Arun Krishnamurthi, vice president & global head utilities, Wipro

“We are happy that the council has shaped up well. The objective of the council to understand, on an ongoing basis, the concerns and challenges facing the senior individuals of the UK’s utilities, and to feed this back to the sector more widely, has been well received. We strongly believe the council will enable the building of strong, smart innovation cultures which make the most of available resources and form a pivot point for the industry, swinging it in a new direction.”

Brian Davies, interim chief information officer, Viridian

‘By its nature, the energy market needs to operate in a sub-optimal mode, because of the critical infrastructural nature of the services we provide. Therefore we need to be cognisant of this when looking at how best innovation can improve or change the services we provide.’

Paul Bircham, networks strategy and technical services director, Electricity North West

“Stakeholders have expressed concerns that vulnerable customers could suffer as a result of initiatives to drive low-carbon. The most affluent could go off grid, leaving the vulnerable to pick up the cost of the networks.”

James Robbins, group chief information officer, Drax

“Technology is a tool, not an end.”

Tim Stiven, interim head of delivery, Energy Systems Catapult

“There is a lack of a common service language between supplier and consumer in energy – no means of offering and accepting differentiated value propositions. In other sectors, like telecoms, this is well established.”