There’s more than one benefit to being a sustainable business, says Drax Retail CEO Jonathan Kini

From the importance of the smart meter roll-out, to putting customers in control of their energy, to the need for energy companies to be transparent, Jonathan spoke with reporter Alastair Greener on a range of hot energy topics.

In a busy and competitive year for the energy industry, Jonathan identified the need for energy suppliers to build trust with customers by being clear and offering renewable energy options.

“It is down to us to become more transparent, really clear and honest about the way that we approach conversations with customers,” commented Jonathan. “It’s something that we’re quite proud of within Opus Energy and Haven Power [a fellow Drax Group energy supplier] because that’s really the heritage of our business.

“We want to be very transparent and very clear, to cut through a lot of the complexity and just give people a simple choice and a way towards becoming more sustainable,” Kini continued.

Through Opus Energy and Haven Power, Drax Retail is giving customers a real choice about the energy they use to power their businesses, and doing so at competitive prices.

“By being more sustainable, you can actually save money and I think that’s really critical to businesses,” says Jonathan. “The energy sector itself, let’s be honest, has been quite confusing for businesses and there’s a certain sort of opaqueness.”

Opus Energy is just one example of an energy supplier delivering on this: last year, 90% of the energy we supplied to our customers came from renewable sources.

“What we’re trying to bring to that market is a real level of simplicity for people to become more sustainable and actually give them the ability to save money,” Kini commented.

“There are two parts to sustainability; first is choosing the right type of energy – renewable energy, which we offer.”

Read about some of the amazing renewable generation supplying Opus Energy customers.

“But actually, the second area is a real practical use of energy; as in using less energy will help you not only save on your bills but also using less energy is more sustainable.”

Jonathan also touched on the importance of the smart meter roll-out and how that will positively impact energy customers and why energy providers need to invest in the technology, which will give control back to customers and help to restore trust between suppliers and consumers.

“Customers don’t always feel in control. I really believe that digitisation will give control back to customers,” Kini commented on the issuing of smart meters to businesses.

At the beginning of the smart meter programme, customers can start to see huge amounts of information about their energy consumption, which will give them the control and the opportunity to reduce that consumption.

“It starts with the information itself; there is a huge programme of work to make sure that customers can have that information automatically. “For me, it’s very much about providing a simple choice and giving them the control,” Kini concluded.