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The chief executive of the UK’s newest energy retailer has told Utility Week that the unprecedented market turmoil is precisely why now is the time for a new player to bring a better offering.
Alan Chang, a former Revolut executive who announced the launch of Fuse Energy Supply last week, also said his new supplier was developing its own customer platform to rival other retailers, after coming to the conclusion that existing platforms “suck”.
Speaking to Utility Week, Chang was asked why he felt now was the time to launch into the market, considering the massive volatility faced by the sector over the last few years.
He said in response: “It’s precisely that reason. I personally came from a financial background, I worked at Revolut before. Revolut was born because of the financial crisis, it was the same question back then, loads of banks or financial institutions just imploded, why the hell would you start a new one? And the short answer is very simple – there is a better way.”
Chang explained that Fuse, which is an electricity-only supplier, incorporates several companies in one including in supply, generation and trading and that it was even building its own metering company.
He further revealed that Fuse is developing its own customer platform.
He added: “Most suppliers use the same software for CRM or billing. We looked into it before and we think they suck, so we’re building software in house for A to save money and B, give more flexibility.
“For example, in our app the customer can see their daily energy bill. We actually show you how much you’ve spent on your energy every day as opposed to having zero visibility and then just seeing a bill at the end of the month. So we’re giving more control back to the customer […] it wasn’t possible to do that with existing billing mechanisms so we just built it from scratch.”
Chang founded the company along with fellow Revolut alumni Charles Orr, who is serving as the retailer’s chief operating officer. The top team also includes EDF Trading’s former head of French power trading, Arnaud Luboinski, as its head of trading. Former Ofgem chief executive Dermot Nolan meanwhile is advising the company.
Its backers include names such as Balderton Capital, a major investor in Revolut, as well as Lakestar, which backed Spotify.
Asked how much customer interest the company had, Chang said Fuse had signed up approximately 1,500 customers within its first 36 hours.
“We’ve been overwhelmed by demand, in a good way,” he added.
When further pressed on whether Fuse had any acquisition targets, he said no.
He continued: “We build products that people love […] if people love it, they refer us. We’re not going to do comparison websites because you have to pay approximately £75 to £100 in acquisition costs per household which, if you think about it, is crazy. I’d rather give that money, that saving, back to the customer.
“We know we can get a lot more customers if we pay more, but we just don’t want to do that. We want to reinvest into building a better product, building more renewables and delivering savings for customers,” he added.
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