FAQ
Price
Utilities provide budget quotes that are only valid for a short period of time.
Utilities provide fixed fee quotes that are only available for a short period of time.
100% payment is often required upfront.
Budget quotes and fixed fee quotes can vary significantly.
It can be difficult to obtain the Point of Connection to verify the proposed solution as the most economic.
The cost can be significant, particularly if there are system capacity constraints in the development area and re-enforcement work is required.
There can be significant additional costs, particularly if there is a need for diversion works, isolations or temporary supplies at site.Specification
The capacity requirements can be inaccurate and over specified.
Lack of accurate data leading to incorrect capacity specifications.
Utilities only offer one solution.
Specification can change post tender award or during development requiring new utility solutions.
Required specification does not take into account geographical constraints.Timing
Utilities are tardy in providing quotes, it can take 3 months for complex jobs.
The lead time for standard jobs in the electricity sector are often 26 weeks.
The lead time for specialist equipment can be up to 18 months.
Lead times for ordering non standard gas meters can be several weeks.
Utilities do not always stick to the agreed timetable and can cause significant overall programme slippage.
The utilities are not flexible about timing.
The development programme may not be realistic once the utility timetable has been established.Competition and industry structure
The industry structure does not support effective competition.
The industry is not customer focused due to the lack of competition.
It is not always clear what the contestable and non contestable split of work is.
It is not possible to obtain a competitive quote in the electricity sector without a confirmed point of connection provided by the DNO.
There are multiple parties involved in enabling a site to go live who often do not communicate between each other resulting in delays and additional costs.
Often utilities subcontract all or a portion of the deliverables resulting in further delays and costs.Resources
There is a lack of adequate experienced resource within the utilities, particularly engineering resource within the electricity sector.
Penalties
If any jobs are complex then there are no enforceable timescales against which the utilities must perform.
Even if there are enforceable timescales the penalties for non compliance are inadequate.
The financial penalties incurred by the construction companies and developers are disproportionate compared to those levied against the utilities.