Our Customer Business Plan
Our priority will always be to make your bill as fair as possible without disadvantaging customers in the future or compromising our high standards of service.
We’ll build on our efficiency track record to continue to deliver industry leading value for money, making every penny that we spend count while driving up performance sector wide.
Delivering for our customers
Our Commitments
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We will maintain our industry leading performance when responding to gas emergencies and completing repairs to reduce the time people are without gas and minimiseour environmental impact. We’ll keep improving and show other networks what’s possible.
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We will keep gas flowing while getting our network ready for a fair and equitable transition to other forms of energy.
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We will invest £1.6 billion in our network to make sure gas is always there when you need it and continue to keep customers safe, warm and connected. We will always ensure our investments are providing value.
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We will focus on the priorities of our customers who told us they want bills to be as low as possible without compromising safety, reliability and environmental sustainability.
Stronger together
Collaboration is a recurring theme throughout our plan, tackling the challenges and opportunities faced in our region together by continuing to work closely with industry, energy stakeholders and our region’s electricity distribution and water companies, for the benefit of everyone in the North.
How our plan will make a difference by 2031
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We’ll maintain our high levels of customer service
We’re consistently benchmarked as one of the best gas networks for customer service. We’ll continue to drive up performance sector wider and target an overall average customer satisfaction score of above 9.2 out of 10.
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More customers in challenging circumstances will get life changing support
Through our work with trusted partners, 331,000 customers in vulnerable situations will benefit from energy advice, financial help or additional support.
We will make sure more customers join the Priority Services Register to get help when they need it. And we will always keep our vulnerable customers in mind as our energy system transitions to more renewable sources.
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Our network will be safer and more reliable
We’ll be replacing 2,900km of old gas pipes with modern plastic ones. That will reduce leaks, meaning our customers experience less disruption and we continue lower our carbon emissions.
Our typical response to emergencies and gas leaks is faster than any other gas network – we get to over 99% within two hours. As well as our usual compensation payment if customers have no gas for 24 hours, we’ll continue to provide an extra payment if customers experience a disruption of between 4 and 24 hours. This will help over 2,600 homes each year.
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We will play a key role in the transition to Net Zero
We’re working to make sure our network is ready for a fair and equitable move to low carbon energy.
We’re continuing to deliver more biomethane through our pipes today while exploring opportunities for hydrogen to decarbonise industry and power generation and looking at how we can repurpose our gas network to deliver low carbon forms of energy, while continuing to keep the gas flowing to keep homes and businesses safe and warm and industry powered up. We’re also making sure our customers understand their options when it comes to low-carbon heating.
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Our environmental impact will be its lowest ever level
By strategically investing in our network, we will cut 432,000 tonnes of CO2, the equivalent of taking 431,995 petrol cars off the road and reduce gas leakage by a further 24%.
We’re also investing in other areas such as removing waste going to landfill and planting hedgerow saplings across our sites.
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Our data will help with a safe, secure and fair transition to net zero and drive improvements sector wide.
As well as using our data to inform better decision making, improve customer experience and drive efficiencies, we’re making sure that our data is available for anyone to use while upholding our responsibilities around data security and integrity.
By sharing our data across the energy sector, other gas networks will understand how we’re pushing the boundaries of efficiency and driving improvements for customers. And they’ll be able to copy our successes so we can move forward together.
A plan informed by our customers
We didn’t want to define the agenda ourselves. That’s why we asked customers and stakeholders to tell us what they wanted, and how they wanted to engage with us.
As a result, we have a plan, shaped by you, that puts our customers and communities first.
Our engagement in numbers
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13,286
The number of people we consulted while we developed our business plan
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7,940
The number of underreached customers involved in the process
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815
The number of local stakeholders who joined meetings and workshops
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79%
The percentage of informed customers who found our plan acceptable
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80%
The percentage of people involved in our engagement who said our plan delivers value for money.
Our Independent Stakeholder Group
While our plan has been co-created with customers, our Independent Stakeholder Group (ISG) has provided scrutiny, challenge and advice throughout successive drafts of our business plan and observed the consultation process in action.
With membership drawn from across the stakeholder community, and boasting expertise in finance, gas distribution, social inclusion, innovation and sustainability, they continue to challenge us and hold us to account for our promises.
Our performance
Read about our performance to find out how we’re delivering on our commitments to our customers. Here you can take a detailed look at our performance for the regulatory periods known as RIIO-GD1 (2013 – 2021) and RIIO-GD2 (2021-2026).
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Read MoreFind out how we're delivering on our promises to customers