Energy retailer Utilita has told Utility Week it has a target list of 50 locations for expanding its Energy Hubs bricks and mortar store model.
The company currently operates nine of the town centre shops, where customers can get energy advice (in multiple languages), top up or rent out rooms for community use.
The supplier launched its first Hub in Gosport in 2018 and subsequently expanded the service to open eight others in Shirley, near Southampton, Edinburgh, the Isle of Wight, Derby, Leicester, West Bromwich, Blackburn and Sheffield.
It plans to open a further three this financial year, including Hartlepool and Huddersfield.
Utilita serves a large proportion of low income households in which English may not be the first language. The initial driver behind the Hubs was to provide a central location where staff employed from the community could serve these customers directly.
Visiting customers can also book smart meter installations, top up meters at pay point terminals and access any other service available through a regular call centre.
However, the remit expanded to include a wider range of customer engagement activities, according Helen Kyne, Head of Energy Hubs at Utilita, who told Utility Week: “We have community rooms in each of the hubs, which people can book out free of charge, which also drives footfall. Those rooms enable us to do energy efficiency presentations and offer tips based on our Energy High 5 campaign.”
When Hubs were forced to close during the pandemic, energies were channelled into fundraising with staff pulling in over £20,000 for seven local charities during the first year of lockdown. According to Kyne, volunteering and working with local communities and charities including food banks and homeless shelters remains a strong focus, which also helps build brand awareness and instil trust.