Business Enquirer Issue 116 | SO Energy | August 2023

SO? WHAT’S THE BIG IDEA?

SO ENERGY

SO? WHAT’S THE BIG IDEA?

Rated as “Excellent” by consumers on Trustpilot, and one of only three energy firms to have ever received a Which? recommendation, 100% renewable supplier So Energy was established in 2015 as an alternative in what it calls the “UK’s broken energy market”.

Merging with ESB Energy in 2021, the relationship has laid the foundations for future for growth and means So Energy now supplies electricity to over 300,000 customers.

The business is focussed on keeping customer service at the heart of its operations, with the aim to provide a more affordable energy solution. Rather than high profile advertising campaigns, So Energy invests money into championing important consumercentric initiatives and investing into much-needed support for UK households.

So Energy’s challenger mindset starts at the top, with Chief Executive Monica Collings utilising her strong, authentic, purpose-led leadership style to help bring change to the industry.

Startlingly, Monica is the only female CEO in the UK’s domestic energy sector. Furthermore, she is one of only six female CEOs across the top 80 energy companies, with 74% of the top firms in the sector having no women on the executive team, and 21% with none on the board.

The renewable energy firm using its challenger mentality to champion change

SO

The Consumer Helpline, part of the TCH Group is proud to be a partner of SO Energy. We are one extended family; culturally aligned and commercially synced.

Passion is the value that truly links our businesses. We deliver exceptional customer experiences whilst pursuing a sustainable path for our partners and communities.

SO Energy are the experts in energy. Their commitment to 100% renewable electricity is exactly what we look for in a partner and we are proud that we can match their energy with our own sustainability roadmap called “Our World”, demonstrating our commitment to preserving our planet and becoming better stewards of the environment.

We have an award winning, proven record in delivering outstanding customer experiences. For us, this goes beyond just fulfilling the basic

requirements—it means addressing the unique needs and wants of every customer on their channel of choice. We strive to ensure that every interaction with SO Energy’s customers exceed their expectations – after all, SO Energy said it best: “there’s never a good reason to have a bad experience with your energy supplier”.

Our results of this speak for themselves. During our partnership we have achieved and maintained above expectation on productivity, quality, compliance, and metric scores whilst recording the highest performance stats amongst all internal and external teams for SO.

Our culture provides you with caring employees who are ready to deliver an outstanding experience to your customers.

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“It's time we see a shift in the industry, how energy companies are run and how they better support their customers,” said Monica when speaking with Business Enquirer.

Whilst the wider UK energy sector is tasked with achieving 40% of middle management and leadership roles filled by women by 2030, Monica and So Energy is on a mission to surpass this.

“Our commitment is to achieve 50% of women in middle management and senior leadership positions by 2025,” states Monica. “Whilst we are not far from this within senior leadership roles, there’s work to do in strengthening our pipeline for middle managers. The investment we intend to make over the next two years to support colleagues' growth is how we will achieve this”.

Joining So Energy in 2021 as part of the ESB merger, Monica has been in the energy industry for five years, and sees her position as an opportunity to be

a role model for future leaders in the sector. As such, So Energy supports a female leadership fast-track programme, and involves itself in initiatives such as POWERful Women.

Becky Strachan, is just one example of a So Energist on the fast-track scheme. To gain sponsorship for the course, Becky put together a thought-provoking presentation on the obstacles women face, especially working in male dominated sectors, and spoke about how she was determined to help educate the whole business on the ways in which we can all be better allies.

Since its launch in 2014, POWERful Women has been striving to create a gender-balanced, diverse and inclusive UK energy sector. Their annual conference event unites 16 heads of the largest energy companies (including So Energy) under the banner of the Energy Leaders’ Coalition (ELC), which Monica believes “has the power and influence to drive change”.

Simon Oscrof Co-Founder, Chief Executive Monica Collings, and Charlie Davies, Co-Founder & Executive Director

So Energy has implemented its Diversity & Belonging Strategy to support closing both the gender and ethnicity pay gaps. Alongside this it has developed the Friends of So Energy, a collaborative group of partners working with So Energy to share statistics across the supply chain through what the company calls its Contract Beyond a Contract.

“For the energy industry to continue to grow and evolve, company mobility needs to be scaffolded by inclusive systems,” she said, “The road to net zero will require creative thinking and new and innovative ideas and will only be reached if we ensure that everyone has the ability to bring their whole selves to work, and are set up with the right tools to enable them to succeed”.

Underpinned by its challenger mindset, So Energy is turning the industry on its head, putting the control back into the consumers’ hands.

“We are the only supplier to give customers a vote on where our renewable energy source comes from,” highlighted Monica, “we are truly committed to supporting our customers”.

So Energy is also the first supplier to offer a fixed tariff to new customers since the beginning of the energy crisis.

Monica foresees that AI will bring opportunity for the business to offer enhanced support to its customers, when they need it.

“We have developed a working group with our partners to identify how we can use AI for better and faster support for customers. This could include energy consumption monitoring to reduce costs for customers, and enable us to identify and target outreach for those who are vulnerable,” she said.

So Energy is actively engaged with the government, lobbying for and championing change.

To help vulnerable customers afford their energy for years to come, So Energy is proposing a Social Tariff.

The aim of the proposed Social Tariff is to eliminate fuel poverty, which a person is deemed to be in if they pay over 10% of their income on heat and light after housing costs have been factored in. Research by the Social Market Foundation finds that 9.8 million households will be in fuel poverty if bills are over £2500 a year, the current annual average.

“A Social Tariff is a targeted reduction in energy bills for qualifying low-income households,” explained Monica, “All bill payers would see a flat additional cost to help fund the Social Tariff. Then, when a predetermined set of criteria shows that the nation is in an “elevated” energy price scenario, further funding is contributed by the taxpayer. To protect against unfunded spending commitments, the amount of additional taxpayer funding provided would be capped”.

As part of its campaign for the Social Tariff, So Energy has engaged with Government, consumer, and charity groups as well as influenced strategic thinking in the wider energy sector.

Monica has also identified the need for the Government to invest in a current skills gap.

“Initiatives to help the UK reach net zero are being rolled out, for example So Energy’s heat pumps in partnership with Evergreen, and our first full service solar and storage solution. However, there is a lack of skilled engineers in this area to meet the country’s ambition. We will be pioneering the government to support a “Net Zero Skills Programme”,” Monica concluded.

With the energy crisis still in full swing, So Energy is committed to building a more sustainable market that not only protects consumers from rising prices, but looks to modernise how Britain is powered.

www.so.energy

Chief Executive Monica Collings and Becky Strachan, who is part of the female leadership fast-track programme