Utility Week

UTILITY WEEK | 5TH - 11TH JULY 2019 | 7 Interview F rom fitness to banking and even dating, it seems that in 2019 there is truly an app for everything – and it is with this philosophy that Steven Day wants to bring energy retail into the 21st century. The amiable and enthusiastic co-founder of Pure Planet meets Utility Week at the app-based supplier's Bath office. With a neon logo on the wall, and staff stand- ing rather than sitting at desks, it's a look that befits a modern brand. Backed by BP, Pure Planet is a new supplier that has emerged in a tough energy market. The sector has recently been rocked by the dramatic exits of fledgling suppliers, o†en due to financial difficulties arising from a lack of capital. Yet Day has a clear vision of where his company is going and knows all too well the importance of learn- ing to walk before you can run. "We are not falling over ourselves too fast, too soon. We've only got one product really, there's only one tariff, it's electricity and gas and that's it, it's consumer only," he begins. Pure Planet was launched in 2017 by Day, Andrew Ralston, Chris Alliott and BP, which has a stake worth just under 24 per cent of the business. The burgeoning company is a renewable energy supplier that is com- pletely app-based. It has so far garnered more than 100,000 customers. A veteran of the telecommunications sector, Day's past work involved setting up Virgin Mobile, which listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2004, doubled its share price, and was sold to NTL in 2006 for just under £1 billion, when it became Virgin Media. He went on to become chief of staff, brand and com- munications at Orange in 2008, which he helped merge with T-Mobile in the UK. In addition he led the creation and launch of the EE brand in 2012 – the largest mobile business in the UK – and the decommissioning of the two former brands. Pure Planet is, for the moment, a "very simple business", he admits. That said, he clearly feels there is scope for the company to delve into more opportunities over the course of time. Day is brutally honest about where he believes his company is at the moment and where he wants it to be. "We're not yet doing anything with the business market but that's a possibility, we're not yet doing anything with regards to battery technology or storage, we're not yet doing anything with blockchain or solar panels. "There's a load more stuff that we know we could do but for now we have been very single-minded and focused just on the very simple products and gaining a lot of experience as we have built out over the past year or so." Mission In a world where sustainability and climate change are some of the more salient issues, it's clear Pure Planet is on a mission to reflect this. Furthermore with an app- based supplier it's unsurprising that "differentiation" is perhaps the word of the day and it is through this differ- entiation that Pure Planet hopes to achieve its goals. "The aim is to create the largest, for purpose, sus- tainable, most recommended green energy supplier in Britain. The purpose is to get renewables well embedded into the UK, and for people to think renewables first," Day continues. "When we set about it, we thought digital is definitely the way forwards. We had that thought, clearly, because of our telecommunications background. We do believe that very strongly. "We felt there needed to be the proposition differenti- ation and there needed to be enough financial capability in the business for it to be able to grow, and to be secure in that growth." Branding In a world dominated by social media platforms, Pure Planet put a lot of thought into the branding of the busi- ness; in particular, how brands can quickly become exposed to their own flaws. "Sometimes, when you are on the receiving end of criticism, it's tough because it's so easy to criticise now. What that has meant in practical terms is that brands are much more other people's, they aren't yours – you put something out there and then what it becomes is what other people make it. "We felt there is no point trying to create a brand and blast that into the world, you've got to try and bring people with you." The supplier recognises that society is becoming increasingly used to using automated systems to ask questions about services or products. Furthermore, Pure Planet understands that the 21st century consumer does not always want to be on hold to a call centre and would much rather resolve issues at the touch of a button. Pure Planet's customers can pose any questions they have to the supplier's friendly neighbourhood robot, or WattBot, as it is known. While the use of robotics and artificial intelligence in customer service is more commonplace than ever before, Day admits there have been instances where customers did not trust the answers the "robot" was giving them. The consumer didn't trust the robot and needed reas- surance from a person; that's falling away as time has passed.

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