Use cases

Find the power cut messages that need a person

GB electricity networks. Reads each power cut message for a hazard, medical equipment, a person at risk and what they want, so a person sees those first.

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Try it on this example

Example · Web form: a tree on the line, a street the map does not show, and home dialysis due at 2pm

Channel (web form, SMS, social, webchat, email): Web form

Message

Report type: Power cut Postcode: SV4 7PL Name: Joyce Priestley Message: Power's been off in Coppice Lane since about 6 this morning. Your map says the fault is in Brook Street, but we're on the other side of the river from there, so I don't think it's the same one. There was a loud bang and a flash from the pole at the end of our lane just before everything went off, and there's a tree down across the wires there now. They're hanging really low over the footpath. My husband is on a home dialysis machine and his next session is due at 2pm. Please can someone tell me when it will be back on, because I need to know whether to take him to the hospital.
  1. What does the message say about the power supply at the property?Off now100%
  2. Which safety hazard does the message describe?Power line or substation100%
  3. Does the customer describe something they saw or heard that may show the cause of the power cut?Yes99%
  4. Does the message name the street, area or postcode without power?Yes99%
  5. Does the customer say someone in the household relies on equipment or medicine that needs power, water or a phone line?Yes99%
  6. Does the message say someone in the home is unwell or at higher risk?Yes96%
  7. What does the customer mainly ask for in the message?When power will be back100%
  8. Does the sender express dissatisfaction with our service, decision or conduct?No84%
  9. Where should this power cut message go first?Safety team now98%

These are real answers stored from one run on this example.

The prism behind it

Find the power cut messages that need a person9 questions

Fields

  • Channel (web form, SMS, social, webchat, email)
  • Message

Context

Severnvale Power Networks runs the electricity network in its region of Great Britain: the cables, poles and substations that bring power to homes and businesses. It does not send bills; customers' suppliers do. In a storm or a large power cut, messages arrive by web form, SMS, social media, webchat and email in their thousands. Each message is read here on arrival, so that the few that need a person reach one before the many asking for an update. Code, not these answers, matches each message to a known incident by postcode and account, gives restoration times, checks the Priority Services Register and works out any compensation from the outage times. These answers only say what the message describes. Safety: anyone who reports a fallen or low power line or damaged equipment gets a fixed reply, written by the network, telling them to stay well away and call 105, or 999 if someone is in danger. Nothing here tells a customer anything or judges whether a place is safe. People at higher risk in a power cut: anyone relying on equipment or medicine that needs power, babies and young children, older people, pregnant women, and anyone unwell or disabled. Go only on what the message says; do not infer anything from names, wording or tone. Complaints: any expression of dissatisfaction with our service, our staff or how the power cut is being handled counts as a complaint, whether or not the word is used. Being without power is not a complaint on its own.

Questions

  1. What does the message say about the power supply at the property? Choice

    Read the message. Pick what the customer says about their own supply when they wrote.

    • Off now The customer says the power is off at the property now.
    • Partly on or flickering Some lights or sockets work and others do not, the lights are dim or flickering, or the power keeps going off and on.
    • Back on The customer says the power was off but has come back.
    • Not about the supply The message says nothing about a loss of power at the property.

  2. Which safety hazard does the message describe? Choice

    Read the message. Choose the hazard the customer describes, in any words. If it describes more than one, choose the one that could cause the most serious harm.

    • Gas A smell of gas or rotten eggs, a hissing pipe, or a suspected gas leak.
    • Carbon monoxide A carbon monoxide alarm sounding, fumes from an appliance, or headaches, sickness or drowsiness linked to an appliance or to being at home.
    • Electrical Exposed or damaged wires, sparks, a burning smell from sockets, or a hot, buzzing or scorched meter or fuse box.
    • Power line or substation A fallen or low power line, a damaged pole, or an open or damaged substation.
    • Water or sewage inside the home Water or sewage coming into the home, especially near electrics or the meter.
    • No hazard The message describes no safety hazard.

  3. Does the customer describe something they saw or heard that may show the cause of the power cut? Yes / No

    Read the message. Count a bang or a flash, a tree or branch on the lines, a damaged pole, cable or substation, smoke from equipment, or diggers or workers near a cable. Code decides whether the network already knows. Yes: The customer describes at least one thing of this kind. No: The customer describes no possible cause, or only repeats what our website or an earlier message said.

  4. Does the message name the street, area or postcode without power? Yes / No

    Read the message. Code matches the place to known incidents; judge only whether a place is given. Yes: The message names a street, a village or area, or a postcode where the power is off or was off. No: The message gives no place.

  5. Does the customer say someone in the household relies on equipment or medicine that needs power, water or a phone line? Yes / No

    Count oxygen, a ventilator, home dialysis, a feeding pump, a nebuliser, a stair lift, a powered bed or chair, medicine that must be kept cold, and a telecare alarm or pendant that needs the phone line or broadband, however the customer names it ("the machine for her breathing"). Yes: The customer says someone in the household relies on such equipment or medicine. No: No such equipment or medicine is mentioned.

  6. Does the message say someone in the home is unwell or at higher risk? Yes / No

    Read the message and the list of people at higher risk in the context. Does it say that someone in the home is feeling unwell, or is in one of the higher-risk groups? Go only on what the message says. Yes: The message says someone in the home is unwell or at higher risk. No: The message says nothing about anyone unwell or at higher risk.

  7. What does the customer mainly ask for in the message? Choice

    Read the message. Pick the thing the customer most wants from us. A question about when the power will be back counts as a restoration time even when it comes with a report.

    • When power will be back The customer asks when the power will be back on, or for an update.
    • Practical help The customer asks for help while the power is off, such as a generator, hot food, a place to stay or somewhere to charge equipment.
    • Compensation The customer asks about payment for the power cut or for food or equipment lost.
    • Reporting only The customer tells us about the power cut or damage and asks for nothing.
    • Not about a power cut The customer asks about something unrelated to a power cut, such as a new connection.

  8. Does the sender express dissatisfaction with our service, decision or conduct? Yes / No

    Use the complaints paragraph in the context. Dissatisfaction counts whatever the main purpose of the message, and whether or not the sender uses the word "complaint". Frustration with the power cut itself, or with the weather, is not dissatisfaction with us. Yes: The sender is unhappy with something we did, failed to do, or decided. No: The message expresses no dissatisfaction with us. Correcting or adding to our information, such as the fault map, without saying they are unhappy with us, is No.

  9. Where should this power cut message go first? Choice

    Judge the message as a whole against the context. The answer is a suggestion for the queue; code sends any reply and matches incidents. When more than one option fits, pick the first in the list.

    • Safety team now A hazard is described: the fixed safety reply goes out and the report reaches the field or safety team now.
    • Welfare call Someone relies on equipment or medicine that needs power, or is unwell or at higher risk: a person calls the household today.
    • Network control The customer describes a possible cause or damage: the report goes to network control to check against what is known.
    • Send the current update The customer wants to know when power will be back and nothing needs a person: code sends the current update for their area.
    • Normal queue Compensation, a complaint, or a message not about a power cut: the normal queue.

Lens columns

supply_status, supply_status_probability, hazard, hazard_probability, cause_seen, cause_seen_probability, area_given, area_given_probability, medical_equipment, medical_equipment_probability, people_at_risk, people_at_risk_probability, main_request, main_request_probability, complaint_expressed, complaint_expressed_probability, route, route_probability

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