SP Energy Networks becomes the world’s first utilities company to achieve the BSI Kitemark™ for Customer Service and comes out on top when benchmarked against UK Customer Service Index

SP Energy Networks' exemplary customer service has enabled us to become the first utilities company in the world to achieve the prestigious BSI (British Standards Institution) Kitemark for Customer Service and verification certification to the BSI Inclusive Service Provision scheme. This verifies the exceptionally high standard of work that is carried out to support vulnerable customers through our Priority Services Register and additional services.

We care for all of our customers when they need it most. Our Priority Services Register is for those customers who might need a little extra help in the event of a power cut and is supplemented through partnerships with a range of local agencies and organisations who provide free practical support for things like debt advice, helping carers or helping lonely customers connect with people in the local area.

The BSI (British Standards Institution) Kitemark for Customer Service was developed to help consumers easily identify organisations that are proven to deliver an excellent customer service experience to all customers. The voluntary BSI Inclusive Service Provision scheme is regarded by consumer bodies as the gold standard for identifying and helping vulnerable customers, and was developed to make sure that inclusive services are available and accessible to all consumers equally.

In addition to this, we have placed first in the UK for our customer service when benchmarked against the UKCSI (UK Customer Service Index).  This means that we are leading customer satisfaction across the top 200 UK service companies. Another testament to the dedication and commitment of our business..

Twice a year, the Institute of Customer Service publishes the UKCSI, the national measure of UK customer satisfaction and rates businesses at a national, sector and organisational level across 13 sectors and 247 brands. Each year the Institute of Customer Service conducts a benchmarking exercise and we use the same sets of questions as the main survey to compare how our business is performing against the Top 50 companies in the UK. 

This year, we have come out on top with a score of 88.4. Our results have been improving year-on-year. When first assessed in 2017, we scored equivalent 25th place and in the last year that jumped from equivalent 7th place to 1st in the league table.

Guy Jefferson, SPEN Customer Service Director, said: "I’m delighted to have received this recognition for both our customer service and our consumer vulnerability work. Our customers are truly at the heart of our business and it’s important that the work we do for them day in, day out is benchmarked and verified by independent experts like BSI.

“We take our commitment to our customers seriously, and a big part of that is the focus we put on those who need a little extra help. We have more than 900,000 Households on our Priority Service Register and our teams work tirelessly to make sure we provide them with reliable, tailored services that help to provide the care and support they need – when they need it most.

“We’re constantly striving to do things better, and that’s why as well as being delighted by this recognition – we’re continuing to raise awareness of our Priority Services Register through advertising and awareness campaigns to help bring these services to even more customers we know could benefit from them.

“The achievement of these high standards is down to the hard work and commitment of all our colleagues across SP Energy Networks, who not only work tirelessly to deliver a service our customers can depend on, but do so with care and passion.”

Anne Scorey, UK Managing Director at BSI said: "We’re delighted that SP Energy Networks has achieved the BSI Kitemark for Customer Service. Delivering excellent customer service has never been more important to businesses. With rising customer expectations and the growing trend for sharing experiences through social media, companies are under increasing scrutiny and so face increasing pressure to demonstrate increasingly high service levels.

“To achieve this Kitemark alongside our Inclusive Service Verification scheme demonstrates SP Energy Networks’ commitment to the whole customer experience. Identifying and responding to consumer vulnerability is important for any organisation dealing with the public and this scheme verifies that an organisation has the relevant policies and procedures, training plans and fair and accessible practices in place when dealing with consumers. Huge congratulations to the team at SP Energy Networks."

We have worked on a video with BSI about how we have achieved our success and the importance of it:

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For further information, please contact Lyndsey Taylor-Whitelaw or Megan Cunningham by calling 0131 561 8628 or emailing spnetworks@stripecommunications.com.

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Notes to Editors

SP Energy Networks:

• SP Energy Networks (SPEN) is the licensed Electricity Distributor (DNO) for Central & Southern Scotland and for Merseyside, Cheshire, North Wales and North Shropshire. It has 30,000 substations (one substation for every 100 customers), 40,000km overhead lines (once around the globe), and 70,000km underground cables.
• SP Energy Networks also operates the Transmission Network in Central and Southern Scotland. It takes electricity generated from power stations, windfarms and various other utilities and transport it through its vast transmission network, consisting of over 4,000km of overhead and 320km of underground lines. It has 129 transmission substations in its network that helps to manage extra high voltage electricity supplies.

From 2015 to 2023 SP Energy Networks plans to invest approximately £5 billion into the electricity network.