Octopus Energy’s appointment of Ofwat chief executive Rachel Fletcher “heralds a change energy”, the supplier’s chief executive has said.
Fletcher took up her role at the water regulator in 2018 and prior to that spent 15 years at Ofgem.
On Tuesday (2 February) it was announced that she would be stepping down from her position at Ofwat to become Octopus’ director of regulation and economics.
Octopus, along with fellow disruptor brand Ovo Energy, was recently classed as a ‘large’ supplier – in the same category as traditional big six players such as British Gas and Eon. This represented a significant shift in how newer brands are perceived in the sector.
Speaking to Utility Week following her appointment, Jackson said Fletcher had a “great combination” of a deep knowledge of energy, intellectual rigour and the gravitas to be able to talk about how the sector can be reformed to speed up decarbonisation.
He added: “Historically energy companies were low on imagination – they were just trying to get the most out of the system as it stood. The energy company of the future is helping redefine the system the way that Amazon reinvented retail, the way that Tesla reinvented cars and now we need to reinvent energy in the same way.
“Rachel’s appointment heralds a change in energy. It’s not so much companies like Octopus joining the big league, this is companies like Octopus reinventing the league.”
Rather than simply being a big player within the existing system, Jackson said he believed companies like Octopus should take a “leadership role” in shaping and defining the system.
He continued: “Our job is not to be big within the existing system, our job is to work with policy makers and customers to define a better system. We are not going to achieve low-cost decarbonisation rapidly if companies are just fighting over the existing landscape.
“To speed up decarbonisation and make it cheaper it requires companies to take a leadership role and help identify opportunities for happier customers to pay less for greener energy. That’s the system we need to define.”