§ Mr. HoyleTo ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) what measures she is taking to improve the percentage of emergency calls answered by electricity companies; [26239]
(2) if she will list the regulations which govern the answer of emergency telephone calls by electricity companies. [26238]
§ Mr. BattleUnder Condition 9A of the new Public Electricity Supply Licence, the Licensee shall establish and operate an inquiry service for use by any person for the purpose of receiving reports and offering information, guidance or advice about any matter or incident that causes danger or requires attention or affects the maintenance of the security, availability and quality of service of the licensee's Distribution System.
The inquiry service shall ensure that all reports and enquiries are processed in a prompt and efficient manner and be available to receive and process telephone reports and inquiries at all times on every day of each year and be operational no later than 31 March 1998.
OFFER is currently looking at the steps taken by the Public Electricity Suppliers (PES) to deal with the aftermath of the recent storms. The investigation includes the difficulties that customers experienced when trying to contact the PES to report loss of supply and obtain information about likely restoration times, and see what lessons can be learned. I have asked to see their conclusions.