External customer challenge groups have proven to be incredibly valuable in presenting a different lens and viewpoint into the business and Cadent will further leverage this as they plan for the RIIO-3 price control. Following a successful challenge group at the start of RIIO-2, Cadent has taken the lead to establish a new challenge group to take them into the next price control.
The Customer Challenge Group (CCG) will provide expert review and independent challenge of strategic decision making across multiple topics aligned to RIIO-3 priorities.
Cadent is keen to use the group to challenge thinking and assumptions, but also bring external expertise and perspectives that are not found within the business. The initial areas that the group will focus on are:
Coupled with this, Cadent will ensure that the group is suitably informed, through insight provided by the business, discussion and information shared between group members and members of the Cadent team. Such topics will include energy policy and future energy scenarios, working with the group to understand how to gain customer insight and trust.
In the context of the UK government’s net zero ambition, Cadent is going to have to change rapidly from the current way of working and face a number of challenges – not least whether there is an on-going role for natural gas in the UK energy mix, but also whether the networks can be repurposed for consumer, industrial and commercial hydrogen use.
Whilst Ofgem has now mandated Customer Challenge Groups for RIIO-3, Cadent's group has a dual purpose. Firstly, to constructively challenge thinking, plans and ambition and secondly to challenge and work with the company on policy, technical and operational aspects and ensure that Cadent is thinking more broadly.
The members of the Group will “bring the outside in” to decision-making process and provide access to skills, knowledge and expertise that would not normally be held within a gas network business. The Group will also bring different perspectives to decision-making process, act as a sounding board for the management team and identify new ways of working and intelligence from other sectors and technologies.
Where appropriate, the Group can help to promote strategic partnerships and engagement, with third parties, that would enhance strategic policy making and its visibility for Cadent. The Group will also use their knowledge of the energy market, policy and regulatory environment, and consumer market more broadly, to inform strategic planning.
