Through support offered from the new SmartestEnergy initiative, it has been announced that those businesses aiming to display role model conduct in responsible practice, will in turn be able to enjoy an increased level of confidence in the responsible nature of renewables procured. As the UK’s largest procurer of renewables
Great success has been highlighted for Thames Water, with the organisation’s retail division successfully increasing the size of its Scottish customer base by greater than 100% over the previous year. The present number of sites, sitting at 1,300 in total, serves to foreshadow the organisations ambition to improve its presence
Through support offered from the new SmartestEnergy initiative, it has been announced that those businesses aiming to display role model conduct in responsible practice, will in turn be able to enjoy an increased level of confidence in the responsible nature of renewables procured. As the UK’s largest procurer of renewables in the independent generation sector, SmartestEnergy maintains an enviable industry position. Yet, utilising this position in a positive manner, the SmartestEnergy Tariff Emission Factor Model has been established, in association with the Carbon Trust, to enable the organisation to distribute renewable certificates for pinpointed tariffs and customers, allowing for a more effective supply-to-source link between the generation of the energy and the customer. How this will be perceived is far less complicated however, as labels are to be created so that each individual customer can see the relative source of their energy, as well as the associated carbon emissions from such generation. Further to this, those customers looking to utilise the facility to exert greater control over the energy they purchase will be able to select the renewable technology they would like their electricity to be generated from. Though renewables as a whole have already been heralded as the future for the energy generation sector, the initiative effectively puts a degree of control in the hands of the customer, but most importantly informs and equips people with the information they need to assess their preferences on the renewable technology medium they support most. Of course, not only will this allow for improved awareness of environmental impacts associated with energy generation, but will also allow for increased differentiation between differing renewable technologies; indeed, not all renewables are the same. Robert Groves, Chief Executive Officer of SmartestEnergy commented on the new label, and system, saying: “We recognise some organisations will want to go further and specify the types of renewable electricity they buy – whether that be just from natural sources or from a particular technology or project – and we can also support that.”
Great success has been highlighted for Thames Water, with the organisation’s retail division successfully increasing the size of its Scottish customer base by greater than 100% over the previous year. The present number of sites, sitting at 1,300 in total, serves to foreshadow the organisations ambition to improve its presence in England’s non-household retail market sector. The present client network highlights an over-achievement on the company’s part, actually surpassing those targets initially set out for the company to increase its client base twofold only, up to 1,200 sites. Of course, the news is surely of a positive note for Thames Water, with the results highlighting the quality of the service on offer to the market. With 2016 predicted to be one of the best year’s for Thames Water yet, it is expected that the company will be able to continue this trend of growth over the course of the year, primarily in terms of the number of clients being handled by the organisation. Additionally, the level of service provided is also expected to be maintained across the increasing network, with Thames Water displaying a commitment to sustaining the “unparalleled service to clients” onto and into the future. Thames Water Commercial Services has also stated that it believes the success achieved in Scotland to be attributed to the increased importance being perceived in managing your water supply as has historically been seen in the gas and electricity industries – industries whereby customers are often changing provider in accordance with new pricing and external factors on a very regular basis. Having operated in the Scottish market for just under three years, the notable success of the company already in tapping into the potential of this market is noted. The English market, however, is due to open as of April 2017, with some 1.2m non-household customers based primarily, or entirely in England to then select their preferred supplier of water and wastewater services.