Engagement with ICPs and IDNOs

We engaged with ICPs and IDNOs to develop and agree our future engagement strategy.

We believe our strategy for engaging with ICPs and IDNOs is effective and robust.

We have a connections input services team who engage directly with these stakeholders. We host dedicated events and connections surgeries and have an alternative providers register on our website with contact details for ICPs who are accredited by us, and the National Electricity Registration Scheme, to carry out contestable works.

However, in the current climate, it has never been more important for us to work collaboratively to deliver timely and competitive connections.

Throughout the course of the ICE plan year, we have been engaging with ICPs and IDNOs to understand their expectations and how they want to interact with us going forward.

We invited stakeholders to provide their feedback on their priorities and preferences via an online survey and in telephone interviews we conducted. When asked about their experience, this particular stakeholder group scored us highly, suggesting they were satisfied with the engagement they received.

We hosted two dedicated competition in connections seminars in the ICE plan year and all those who responded confirmed they were satisfied with their experience. We asked those who took part to tell us what more we could be doing to engage with them, they prioritised opportunities for senior level interaction and more timely operational updates and this feedback has informed our approach.

To further demonstrate how we are listening to these stakeholders and acting on their feedback, we agreed that we would create an actions register which captures their specific requests and how we have responded. The register is reviewed, updated and circulated to our ICP and IDNO stakeholders on a quarterly basis.

Although we do not consider the feedback we received through our engagement with ICPs and IDNOs requires any substantive changes to our current approach, we will be sharing the insights we received with these stakeholders and providing them with opportunities to further inform or endorse our strategy.