We Have a Good Track Record of Providing Innovative Solutionsto
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48 Annual Report and Accounts 2021 – Pennon Group plc A purpose-led business We have a good track record of providing innovative solutions to address affordability in our communities, and we want to do more. Pennon Group plc – Annual Report and Accounts 2021 49 Strategic Report Strategic In response to the pandemic, we were one Governance of the first companies to expand our priority services register. We continue to expand our accessibility and affordability support measures having unlocked c.£2.4 million of financial support by ensuring customers are receiving all eligible benefits. Financial Statements Financial Over 30,000 customers now receive support through reduced tariffs, with more than 67,000 customers supported through one or more of our affordability schemes. We are committed to making bills more affordable starting with those households who pay more than 5% of their disposable Other Information Other income on their water bills. The Knapp Mill water treatment works in Bournemouth 50 Annual Report and Accounts 2021 – Pennon Group plc Our operations – South West Water Delivering service excellence for customers This is the first year of our K7 period (2020-2025) and South West Water has made a strong start in delivering its ambitious New Deal business plan, remaining resilient despite the global pandemic. Water and wastewater snapshot 10 10 6 12 12 9 11 11 13 6 8 9 5 3 2 4 8 4 7 7 5 3 1 1 2 12 Major towns/cities Our operations 1 Penzance 7 Plymouth 1 Stithians Reservoir 8 Countess West STW 2 Falmouth 8 Torquay 2 Restormel WTW 9 Pynes WTW 3 Truro 9 Exeter 3 Colliford Lake Reservoir 10 Wimbleball Lake Reservoir 4 Newquay 10 Barnstaple 4 Mayflower WTW 11 Alderny WTW 5 St Austell 11 Bournemouth 5 Mary Tavy Hydroelectric 12 Longham Lake Reservoirs Station 6 Bude 12 Isles of Scilly 6 Roadford Lake Reservoir 13 Knapp Mill WTW 7 Brokenbury Torbay STW WTW = Water Treatment Works STW = Sewage Treatment Works SOUTH WEST WATER IN NUMBERS 2.3m 18,433 653 150 TOTAL POPULATION SERVED KM OF DRINKING WATER WASTEWATER TREATMENT BATHING WATERS MAINS NETWORK WORKS 23 43 19,049 RAW WATER RESERVOIRS DRINKING WATER TREATMENT KM WASTEWATER MAINS WORKS NETWORK Pennon Group plc – Annual Report and Accounts 2021 51 Delivering more of what matters for our Report Strategic communities Sharing our success Our innovative New Deal business plan, informed by our most extensive engagement programme to date. It sets out our focus to change the nature of our relationship with our customers. WaterShare+, a key aspect of our plan, was launched in October 2020, shared c.£20 million of outperformance from 2015-20 with customers, by offering a choice of a £20 credit to their bill or shares in Pennon. We were delighted Governance with the positive response to this trailblazing initiative, which saw 1 in 16 household customers opting to become Pennon shareholders and giving them a tangible stake in the business. WaterShare+ also seeks to give customers a greater say in what South West Water does and how the Company is run. The Independent WaterShare+ Advisory Panel meets in public on a quarterly basis (although held virtually where appropriate), with the panel reviewing South West Water’s progress against Statements Financial targets and an opportunity for customers to have a real say in how the business operates. This year South West Water will hold its first dedicated customer AGM in autumn 2021, designed to be more Innovative affordability and WaterCare programme Minimising customer supply interruptions accessible for all customers who can hear and input Our New Deal included a pledge to eliminate We understand the importance that our customers into the Company’s plans. water poverty by 2025 by expanding our toolkit of place on having a reliable supply of drinking water, Supporting our communities affordability support to those who need it most. During and the inconvenience that supply interruptions can We recognise the importance of our role in the the year, our WaterCare advisors completed over cause. During 2020/21, we achieved our best ever communities we serve, and we are committed to 3,600 virtual home visits and unlocked c.£2.4 million of performance level of 5 minutes 38 seconds, a c.40% Information Other delivering more of what matters to them. During the financial support by ensuring customers are receiving year on year reduction for those customers who have year, we launched dedicated initiatives including all eligible benefits. We continue to expand our an outage for more than three hours, two years ahead our Neighbourhood Fund and the Water-Saving affordability toolkit with over 67,000 customers now of target. We have also delivered a c.80% reduction in Community Fund. benefitting from one or more of our support measures, supply interruptions lasting over 12 hours, achieving The Neighbourhood Fund builds on our work to support representing an 11% increase compared to 2019/20. our 2025 target. our communities with funding available for community Operational delivery – driving A key component of our strategy includes a dedicated, groups, offering physical activities, education, health performance through innovation in-house supply continuity and alternative water and wellbeing and delivering positive environmental South West Water has made a robust start to K7, supply team. Alongside this we have introduced outcomes. Community groups supported to date driving performance and efficiency through innovation. innovative technology enabling repairs to the network include; The Hugs Foundation – offering therapeutic under pressure. We have also introduced enhanced and supportive interventions for those suffering from Clean, safe and reliable drinking water training and greater use of data analysis to support Our focus remains on ensuring the supply of clean, mental ill health, social exclusion, disadvantages and our focus on continuous improvement. disabilities, and the Cornwall Accessible Activities safe and reliable drinking water, whilst protecting the Delivering a resilient service Programme – supporting families and children with precious natural resources within our region. During the year, demand has been higher than the additional needs to access activities during the Improving water quality for customers previous year, as a result of the sustained stay at school holidays. We continue to target improvements in the quality home measures during lockdown, along with a peak of water supplied to customers and have seen a Our Water-Saving Community Fund promotes ideas to in demand driven by the hot, dry period in the spring c.20% reduction in taste, smell and colour contacts help our customers and communities to get involved and an increase in ‘staycations’ during the summer. over 2020/21. in water conservation projects including support for Throughout the year, we successfully managed our organisations to create drought tolerant gardens, to During the year, we have introduced a range of water resources, balancing supply across the network to install water butts in community allotments or provide innovative raw water management techniques maintain safe and resilient supplies at all times, and our educational training and displays in schools. including reservoir mixing at Wistlandpound Reservoir, reservoir levels at 31 March 2021 remain robust at 97.0%, In partnership with the South West Lakes Trust, an and the introduction of sonic technology which broadly in line with the prior year. reduces algae in raw water sources feeding our innovative, interactive new education centre is being 2020 was the 24th consecutive year without water treatment sites. set up at Roadford Lake informing and promoting restrictions in the South West Water region and water efficiency and the benefits of our work on We continue to target further improvements through maintained Bournemouth Water’s track record of no communities and the environment. It is hoped this our planned c.£90 million investment in new treatment water restrictions ever. centre can help educate our customers to reduce works in the Bournemouth Water region (excluding Our customers feel very strongly that we should water consumption and reduce the risk of sewer Ofwat’s draft decision on Green Recovery) with initial prevent water from being lost due to leakage, and we blockages and pollutions through sewer misuse. works commencing during the year. continue to invest significantly to prevent and manage leaks on our network. Our water network was tested throughout the year with increased demand due to customer behaviour during the multiple lockdown periods and a higher than normal regional population given the significant proportion of second home ownership in our region. 52 Annual Report and Accounts 2021 – Pennon Group plc Our operations – South West Water continued As a result, increased pumping has been required to more rural areas, away from concentrated urban environments. With a record number of bursts seen in early 2021, our teams provided a robust response to this increased network activity. This resulted in a c.40% increase in the number of leaks detected. Despite this, our leakage target was not achieved. Our targeted action plan to recover leakage performance includes: • Detection and repair – even more investment to reduce leak running times • Focus on customer leaks – proactive identification and support for supply pipe repairs • Data and control systems – increasing network monitoring and innovative combined smart meters • Reducing our own use – making our operations more water efficient