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Building consumer trust in the energy sector, as well as using technology to drive forward change, will be key components of the energy transition, industry observers have said.
Speaking during a panel discussion at the annual Energy UK conference this afternoon (15 October), industry leaders discussed the future of energy retail markets following the pandemic.
So Energy founder and chief executive Simon Oscroft said the retail sector was on the brink of a “once in a generation evolution” over the next decade.
Yet Oscroft warned that ensuring consumers trusted their energy suppliers was essential if the transition was to be a success.
“We’ve got rapid technological change, massive infrastructure upgrades and shifting customer attitudes all combining to transition us to a very different retail landscape. For us as energy retailers our focus has to be on ensuring that our customers can trust us”, he said.
He further outlined how keeping the customer journey as simple as possible and being fair and transparent over pricing was how his company was aiming to build trust.
He said: “Smart meters and half hourly settlement have the potential to unleash a wave of much needed innovation and we can all see what this could mean for reducing bills and reducing carbon. At So Energy we started installing solar panels and batteries in customer homes this summer and we are planning to launch a lot more tailored products towards EVs and low carbon heating in the future. As exciting as all of these things are, there are some real issues bubbling under the surface.
“Customers want simplicity, they generally don’t want to be active participants, spending their time monitoring usage or changing their own habits to make sure their car gets charged at the right time. As an industry we need to make sure we don’t just focus on the super engaged, our job as an energy supplier is to do all the complex stuff in the background so what the customer sees is something that is simple and easy to understand.
“This is essential if we are to achieve the mass adoption of smart products and services. But if we are to earn the right to do all of this stuff, physically going in customers’ homes, remotely taking control of their appliances, managing all their personal data, customers really need to trust their supplier.”
Also speaking during the panel session was Clementine Cowton, director of external affairs at Octopus Energy, who talked about how technology, specifically the company’s proprietary Kraken platform, can be used to drive change across the whole system.
“Kraken has been developed to transform the entire system and in fact transform the system around the customer rather than simply retailers being the off-taker of prices at the end of a centrally planned market. We believe the sector needs to move out of the prism of being suppliers and instead become mission-based and we should be looking to drive transformation throughout the entire energy system, not simply our own business models”, she said.
Cowton further explained how technology gives the sector the chance to dramatically accelerate the transition in a way that “puts customers at the heart of it, rather than bearing the brunt of it”.
She added: “We have a massive opportunity if we change the way we think about ourselves from businesses that seek to charge customers a higher price for lower value and instead seek to build that trust, build those relationships but then use technology to drive change. We can own this entire market and really make sure that customers are seeing the benefits of the transition to net zero.”
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