08:30
Welcome Coffee
08:50
Opening remarks from the Chair
Ben BarnesApproaches to creating better relationships with energy consumers
09:00
Exploring the opportunities of Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) for energy retailers and their customers
- Diversifying revenue streams beyond traditional energy sales by offering value-added services
- Engaging more deeply with customers by providing comprehensive energy solutions
- Promoting energy efficiency and sustainability initiatives to reduce energy consumption, lower costs, and achieve sustainability goals
- Building long-term relationships and recurring revenue and using that predictability to support long-term planning and investment
- Harnessing technology as an essential enabler for the energy transition
Byron Searjeanston09:30
Learnings from the smart meter rollout in the UK – benefits, challenges and the hurdles to come
- Outlining the structure of the program, and the short and long-term benefits for customers
- Identifying and addressing issues in the rollout, including hurdles still to be overcome
- Supporting a low carbon, more flexible grid which allows for the electrification of heat and transport
Daisy Cross10:00
Allowing energy consumers to understand and take control of their energy use
- What level of understanding do customers need to feel empowered to manage their energy use?
- Supporting behavioural changes – what really works
- Evidence of how this works – how we are applying this in regional WA
Louisa Frome
Senior Manager, Marketing & Insights
Horizon Power
11:00
Bundling services - does a standalone retailer even make sense anymore?
- Identifying the services an energy retailer needs to partner with in order to offer a full customer experience
- Creating a compelling business structure/revenue benefit for partners integrating their products with the energy market
- Meeting the needs of an increasingly sophisticated prosumer with distributed power stations
Adrian Merrick
Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Energy Locals
11:30
Helping customers navigate the ‘green’ electricity maze to keep them engaged, motivated and optimistic about renewables and the transition
- Analysing what customers understand and want from green electricity
- Clearly defining the terms ‘GreenPower’, ‘green electricity provider’, and ‘carbon neutral’
- Analysing current and emerging opportunities to support customers with renewable energy options (e.g. LGCs, iRECs, GP, REGOs, CPPA)
- Servicing environmentally conscious customers with other products and services to meet their desire to make a difference
Olivia Hudson
General Manager of Product and Marketing
Momentum Energy
Impact of technology on energy retailing – the good, the bad and Gen AI
12:00
Examining the energy consumer experience, risk and process in the age of generative AI
- Exploring the rise of responsive customer agents powered by AI, and the consequent demise of ‘rusted on’ consumers
- Modelling constant change/churn as customer agents shop around to get the best price (and notice billing errors!)
- Re-engineering energy retailing for a responsive customer agent, particularly in light of CDR
- Overcoming barriers to demand management through the deep learning capabilities of generative AI
Paulo Gottgtroy
Head of Decision Science and Analytics
Mercury NZ
13:30
PANEL DISCUSSION: What does today’s energy consumer want and how does the industry develop products to meet them?
- Have energy customers changed recently and in what ways?
- Is the phrase “energy consumers” relevant anymore, or do we need to divide customers into sectors like ‘prosumers’ to get a grip on their differing desires and levels of sophistication?
- What are the most effective ways of accessing your target audience to hear their real thoughts and get meaningful/actionable insights?
- How critical is the concept of social licence when building products and services for energy consumers?
Moderator:
David Prins
Director
Etrog Consulting
Panellists:
Sarah Thurstans
General Manager Retail
Tas Gas
Daniel McClintock
Head of Product Innovation
Simply Energy
Nigel Clark
Chief Executive Officer
Aurora Energy
Emmett Williams14:10
Dissecting what customer-centric solutions really mean – what technology truly supports an exceptional customer experience?
- Letting go of the one-way distribution model to embrace a new paradigm of entirely customer-centric business models
- Retaining clients through innovation and customer focus
- Developing smart platforms that are driven by real-time customers’ experience data
- Delivering elegant technical solutions that make business processes run smoothly with tools and services customers can count on
Margaret Cooney
Chief Customer Officer
Octopus Energy
15:10
Ensuring that the astonishing changes in the energy system are reflected in exceptional technology and choice for customers
- Improving energy retail customer experience and business efficiency with cloud software
- Using data to maximise the use of cheap renewable energy
- Offering personalised energy insights based on customer needs with advanced technologies such as smart meters, IoT devices, and data analytics
15:40
PANEL DISCUSSION: How do we translate tech into stronger customer relationships?
- How do we balance personalised services with the risk of being seen as an intrusive ‘Big Brother’?
- How important are codes like the recent New Energy Tech Consumer Code (NETCC) in improving consumer confidence in energy tech?
- What are some of the innovative services which will improve relationships and increase loyalty?
- Which specific elements of technological improvements resonate most and impact customer satisfaction and loyalty?
Moderator:
Michael Kasprowicz
General Manager
Pooled
Panellists:
Rob Morris
Chief Executive Officer
iO Energy
Margaret Cooney
Chief Customer Officer
Octopus Energy
Steve Hoy
Chief Executive Officer
Enosi Australia
16:20
Closing remarks from the Chair
16:25
End of Energy Retailing Excellence Conference 2023