NORTHERN Ireland Electricity has been forced to change its name after thousands of disgruntled customers mistakenly contact the firm years after it sold off its supply wing.
The company is to be known as NIE Networks in a bid to ease consumer confusion.
A survey carried out by the company found almost a third of emails and phone calls it received over the summer months should have been directed at another firm.
The company is responsible for keeping the 46,000 kilometres of overhead line and underground cable in good working order, fixing them when there is a problem, connecting customers and reading and installing meters.
However, customers with supply issues continue to contact the company years after the north's electricity market was opened to competition and NIE's supply business was rebranded as Power NI and sold.
NIE said adding Networks to its name from today would " remind customers that its role in the electricity market is to look after the grid and transport power from where it is made to where it is used".
NIE Networks communications manager Sara McClintock said: “We know that there is nothing more frustrating than being told ‘we can’t deal with your query, you need to speak to someone else’ which is why we are trying to clarify the difference between NIE Networks and electricity suppliers. Electricity suppliers are the companies which bill you for your energy usage.
“If there is a power cut, it’s our job at NIE Networks to fix it. We want to make this process as simple as possible for homeowners and businesses and that starts with the first contact online or over the phone.”
Head of energy at the Consumer Council, Richard Williams welcomed the name change.
"From speaking to consumers we know it is easy to confuse the role of the network operator and the electricity supply companies. The NIE Networks brand makes it clearer who owns and manages the electricity network system which distributes electricity to homes and businesses across Northern Ireland. This name change should help consumers better understand that they should contact NIE Networks when they experience a power cut or power failure," he said.
