Utiligroup Enables Social Enterprise to Challenge ‘Big 6’ In Scotland

Utiligroup, a leading provider of software solutions and services to the energy and utilities industry, has been appointed by Our Power – a unique entrant into Scotland’s energy supply market.

Our Power – a consortium of 35 Scottish housing providers and Local Authorities, will sell affordable energy to the 150,000 households across its member organisations and their communities – and is the first company of its kind in the UK to operate on a non-profit distributing basis. Based in Edinburgh, Our Power plans to introduce satellite offices across Scotland, as it prepares to save tenants up to £100 a year on their energy bill.

Utiligroup will be providing its ‘Supplier in a Box™’, software and managed services to the Scottish company, enabling it to take on the challenge of reducing fuel poverty. The services will enable Our Power to enter the market and supply it with state-of-the-art data systems to manage customer growth.

The appointment is the latest in a string of ‘challengers’ which have appointed Utiligroup to assist them, as they enter into the energy market. It works with a plethora of new energy providers, including Neas Energy, GnERGY and, most recently, Tempus Energy.

Matthew Hirst, CEO of Utiligroup, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Our Power to our roster of forward-thinking and progressive providers. Its distinctive vision in directly providing social housing providers with the capacity to provide energy to their tenants is exactly what Utiligroup is all about – making energy more affordable to end consumers and providing them with a better service.

“Energy is a constantly changing market and it’s very positive to see organisations from all fields and sectors take on the challenge of providing energy and cheaper bills in unique and cutting-edge ways.” At Our Power’s launch in Glasgow just a few weeks ago, Our Power’s Chief Executive, Dawn Muspratt, commented: “Our aspiration is to generate 100 per cent of the energy we sell to tenants, and Utiligroup has shared our passion to make this possible over time. At a time when energy bills have risen significantly over the last ten years, we felt that we needed to address the issue of fuel poverty. We are extremely pleased that Utiligroup shares our vision to help as many households out of fuel poverty as possible, as well as protecting other households from going below the fuel poverty threshold.”

The company plans to go live in December 2015, providing an ever-growing number of social housing providers across Scotland with more efficient customer service, easier to navigate tariffs and cheaper bills.