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TALKING HEADS Grace Rothery

Grace Rothery is head of retail at Gazprom Energy

Stepping into the unknown

Predicting the future direction of the domestic energy market is tough but Grace Rothery is determined to maintain Gazprom’s position as Great Britain’s leading gas supplier L ike every other market sector in the UK, the energy market is navigating uncharted waters. Predictions made at the beginning of the year on energy be a long-term change unless government targets are adjusted accordingly. As long as companies need to comply with environmental regulations and meet emissions targets, reducing consumption prices, number of suppliers, and patterns of and pollution will continue to be a use have been blown out of the water. priority in the future. We may see further

Grace Rothery believes it’s impossible government intervention to encourage to say what the effects of the pandemic investment in renewables because the will be on the market. The head of retail at business case for doing so at the moment Gazprom Energy told EiBI: “If businesses is greatly impacted by the rock-bottom continue to be closed or scaled back, and if price of oil and other fossil fuels.” people continue to work remotely, either A new focus on environmental temporarily or on a more long-term basis, management does not mean that then demand in the non-domestic sector Gazprom has any intention in veering will continue to reduce and prices will be from its core business and into providing affected in different ways. For example, energy services. “In the short to medium we might expect wholesale prices to drop term, we are focused on providing a but infrastructure and/or transportation great customer experience for gas and costs could go up.” electricity supply,” states Rothery. “We

In addition, she believes pressure will encourage our customers to engage mount on suppliers and TPIs. “We may with specialists in energy management also see smaller, independent suppliers and other services because we believe go out of business in the next few months in the ‘best-in-breed’ model, rather than if they don’t have the financial backing and stability to survive when customers Rothery: 'customers will have less choice when it comes to selecting their Gazprom acting as a one-stop shop.”

Rothery is convinced that energy will cannot afford to pay their bills,” she energy provider' become one of the biggest overheads for commented. “This essentially means businesses and customers are increasingly customers will have less choice when it comes to selecting their energy provider. The TPI market could also change and we

‘We have seen environmental issues temporarily deprioritised

Rothery's first priority is to maintain adapt and react quickly and to a high standard with successful consumption. Customers of all sizes will Gazprom's position as the leading gas outcomes.” also be demanding greater transparency supplier in Great Britain. The company This desire to keep Gazprom at the top of the suppliers’ league which will put more emphasis on the has been supplying more gas than any stems from Rothery’s unorthodox route to her current role. Having provision of data and make this a core part other supplier since 2017. “There are a qualified as a solicitor a couple of client secondments attracted of an energy supplier’s service.” number of factors that have led us to this her to practising law in house. “I was drawn to this as I enjoyed Rothery also believes that position,” she comments. “Everything we applying the law to help achieve and exceed business goals and decentralisation will continue to play an do has a focus on our customers, and we this spurred me on to make the move in-house to Gazprom Energy. important role in the energy market of the believe in the value of having an in-depth During my time here, I have led our Legal & Regulatory teams future. “This will evoke new and innovative understanding of the challenges our before transitioning to my current role in 2018.” approaches to supplying and buying energy customers face.” that are more flexible and autonomous,”

What sets the company apart from Greater emphasis on environmental issues she adds. “We are going to see an increase its competitors is its knowledge and As the UK slowly begins to emerge from the pandemic, of organisations investing in onsite overall attitude, Rothery believes. “Energy emphasis will be turning onto whether the UK will be placing generation so this indicates that power regulations are constantly changing a greater emphasis on environmental issues. “We have seen purchase agreements (PPAs) will become so keeping on top of them may be environmental issues temporarily deprioritised as businesses increasingly popular and significantly challenging. However, our passion for fight for survival,” Rothery comments. “However, I doubt this will important in coming years.” 

seeking to gain better control over their monthly outgoings. “For smaller consumers, the desire for accuracy will have already seen a number of TPIs forced to take action including putting staff on as businesses fight for survival’ become even greater,” she adds. “This will lead to estimated bills to become a furlough as a result of their core customer doing what’s right for the customer means that we excel in this thing of the past and the harnessing of base (SMEs) being affected by closures.” area. We actually embrace change, working hard to innovate, new technology to help manage energy

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