Our priority is keeping customers safe. When we respond to a gas emergency, if we find a fault, we may need to isolate the supply or condemn an unsafe appliance. This removes the immediate risk, but can leave households without heating, hot water or cooking facilities.
Gas supply interruptions are usually resolved quickly, however, for customers in vulnerable situations, this can have an immediate impact. This is why we go beyond our core network responsibilities by providing eligible customers with rapid, practical support that helps these customers restore their gas supply and stay safe and warm at home.
For customers facing financial hardship, health challenges or other vulnerabilities, losing gas can quickly become a crisis. They may face difficult choices: staying off gas, risking unsafe self-reconnection, or taking on credit to pay for essential repairs or replacements.
We can help prevent this by providing practical interventions and trusted support, keeping customers safe, warm and independent at home.
We’re working to bridge this gap by offering eligible customers a practical, compassionate alternative when they cannot afford essential repairs or replacements, helping restore a safe gas supply and get essential appliances working again as quickly as possible.
During RIIO-2, we developed the training, partnerships and delivery model needed to provide this support at scale. Over the next five years, we will continue to expand the programme allowing us to reach more customers and increase our impact.
The programme brings together frontline insight, engineering expertise and personalised welfare support. Through specially trained engineers and trusted referral routes, we will provide:
This support helps households in vulnerable situations avoid difficult choices when essential appliances fail, so they can stay safe and warm at home.
Services Beyond the Meter was shaped by our frontline colleagues, who saw that many customers could not afford the repairs needed to have their gas safely restored. With regulatory funding and support from the Cadent Foundation, we have built a sustainable model that delivers practical help for those who need it most.
In RIIO-3, we will expand energy efficiency assessments and targeted in-home improvements. This will help households use less energy, improve comfort and manage costs, while supporting a fairer energy transition.
We will continue to strengthen support for customers in vulnerable situations by improving identification, raising awareness and increasing access to assistance, while delivering practical support, building resilience and creating measurable benefits.
In RIIO-3 we will:
