Centrica has signed a deal with software provider Ensek which will see more than 7 million of its British Gas customers transfer to its billing platform.
The British Gas owner has been undergoing a radical restructure and it is hoped the new deal announced on Wednesday (18 August) will help accelerate the transformation.
Ensek is a global retail energy software-as-a-service provider. Alongside software from Amazon and Salesforce, its Ignition platform already serves 250,000 customers of Centrica’s new retail arm, British Gas Evolve, and SME provider British Gas Lite.
Centrica said the “digital first” platform allows customers to take more control of their account to understand, manage, and control energy consumption and bills, whilst also enabling many of its legacy processes to be automated.
Chris O’Shea, Centrica group chief executive, said: “We are the UK’s largest supplier of zero carbon electricity and our partnership with Ensek is another great example of how we are using the right technology to deliver a more affordable, sustainable and simpler experience for our customers.
“We have already seen the benefits that Ensek has brought to our ways of working and the customer experience with British Gas Evolve, and we now plan to replicate this across our entire UK energy supply business.”
Jon Slade, chief executive of Ensek, said: “We are delighted to continue our work with Centrica to support its turnaround. By leveraging Ensek’s modern and flexible platform, Centrica is empowered to take greater control of its key customer touchpoints and respond quickly to customer needs in a rapidly evolving market.
“Continuous innovation is at the core of Ensek’s strategy, as we look to enable digital transformation in the energy sector and accelerate the energy transition.”
Eon is another example of a large supplier which has recently made changes to its billing processes in a bid to adapt to the changing retail landscape.
Earlier this year the company announced it had successfully completed the migration of 2 million residential and business customers from Npower to its new retail brand, Eon Next, which is underpinned by Octopus Energy’s proprietary Kraken platform.
The energy giant is the second UK retailer to licence Kraken from Octopus, with Good Energy announcing it had struck a deal to use the platform last year.