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PENALISE POWER CUT FIRMS, SAYS ENERGY MINISTER

Electricity companies that fail to reduce the risk of power cuts should face penalties, says the [UK] energy minister, Brian Wilson.

Speaking after the publication of a Department of Trade and Industry report on how electricity companies responded to severe storms in October when more than 2m homes were left without power, Mr Wilson called on the regulator Ofgem to consider fines for poor performers.

“The performance of companies varied enormously and lessons must be learned,” he said. “Companies which had invested in and properly managed their programmes responded promptly and suffered a lower incidence of disconnections or much shorter periods of time.”

The minister singled out Western Power Distribution and Scottish and Southern Energy as “benchmark companies,” saying that companies which failed to respond to customer needs should look to them as examples of best practices.”

A spokesman for the Electricity Association said the industry regretted its failure. Chairman Robin MacLaren said some delays had occurred in dealing with customer inquiries and restoring power. Thousands of homes were without power for more than a week.

“We fully acknowledge that we can make improvements,” Mr MacLaren said. “A number of actions have been taken by the network operators.”

The consumer group Energywatch said: “Distributors have badly let their customers down. They should repair their relationships with their consumers by paying compensation.”

THE GUARDIAN, Dec. 20, 2002