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8 | 9TH - 15TH JUNE 2017 | UTILITY WEEK Interview Kini is leaping on this insight, not only because of Drax Group's significant renewables foothold, but also because of the "fantastic" opportunity it creates to speak to customers about renewable energy and cutting costs. "I was with one of our largest cus- tomers yesterday and talking about total costs," he says. "Some companies will use the energy they buy and also energy they create. If we can get the partnership right and stop just having a tariff conversation, and say 'how do we start to look at this in a different way?', I think new models will grow. "Suddenly, you will become a partner to these busi- nesses, rather than a straight supplier." Key to this partnership concept is trust between Opus Energy and Haven Power and their customers. "I could not have had the conversation I had yesterday, if three years ago we had not built that trust with this company." A significant part of this is being transparent with businesses about what their energy use is. Opus Energy has a "huge proportion" of its customer base on advanced meters, opening up the data to the retailer, but giving the customer clarity as well. In order to be seen as a trusted and reliable figure for offering energy advice, Kini was keen for Drax to get its own house in order. Its carbon footprint review high- lighted a peculiarity that needed addressing. He recalls: "We found there was energy being used on a Saturday in one office, when no one was in. An IT process was running over the weekend and had fired up everything, so we changed that." This investment of time and resource into improving Drax's own credentials now needs to be echoed in its retail arm to ensure customers get the information they crave in a simple manner. "We're really keen to make sure what we offer is practical, easy to use and something that people can see working." Kini says he believes it will be "beholden on energy retailers" to help larger companies in the future to manage their own energy and become more resilient. "You have your super-sophisticated buyers, who are already there and just need help to facilitate the parts they can't do." Whereas smaller companies will start to look at solar and battery systems "if the right deal can be constructed". "It's not quite there yet," he says. "But I can see in the next two or three years that being a normal conversation, and energy retailers will have to think about what their part is in that." Having two business energy suppliers under your wing might seem like overkill to some, but Kini insists that Haven Power and Opus Energy complement each other and reflect the dichotomy in the business energy market. Haven Power predominantly focuses on industrial and commercial users, while Opus Energy was born out of focusing on the small and medium enterprise market. "Although there is some crossover, we have a mar- ket of five and a half million businesses. It's a pretty big market. Both are very good businesses and performing extremely well." There has been a lot of talk in the sector about multi- utili ty deals. Last month, Ancala Partners and the Peel Group joined forces to launch a new multi-utility opera- tor, called Leep Utilities, which will cover gas, electricity, district heating and water networks. This is the latest in a series of new pan-utility deals that have become available since the non-domestic water retail market opened up to competition. But Kini says Drax Retail has "no current plans" to branch out in this direction. "There is such an opportunity for us as a challenger brand to do a better job and earn trust in electricity and gas," he says. "We will always look for opportunities, but there are no plans at this stage. "For the businesses which are doing it, I think the service models are a different beast," adds Kini. "When I was at Virgin Media, I ran broadband, mobile phone, tele vision and fixed line [telephones]. You need to have some exceptionally good systems." One area that Kini does see having a bright future is biomass. Drax's converted coal power station in York- shire is the largest biomass facility in Britain and typi- cally consumes around 7 million tonnes of wood pellets each year. Biomass makes up 70 per cent of the fuel for the elec- tricity generated by Drax, and there are hopes for that to grow further – although these hopes rest squarely with the government. "We would like to see further conversions [in the UK] and if they came through another contract for difference, we would be interested in continuing that. "We are ready and we have the capability in the busi- ness. We have the supply chain and the market interest. It really is down to a decision from the government. "Drax takes 10 per cent of the subsidy provided for renewables in the UK, but provides 16 per cent of renew- able power. I think biomass has a long-term future and works well with other renewables." Returning to the future relationship between suppli- ers and business customers, Kini predicts a much more "intimate" partnership. This will not involve a constant conversation with cus- tomers, but rather a situation whereby business consum- ers can engage in the market as and when they choose, and take advantage of it in a way that best suits them. "It will become a much more digital experience, like an app on a phone. I think all the complexity in the market will become a lot simpler for customers. We are already seeing that across multiple industries, with people starting to find breakthrough moments." Kini adds that Drax research has shown SMEs only engage with their energy company for six minutes a year. For Kini, the challenge is not to increase this period of engagement, but to make it more effective and efficient by keeping things simple. "If you are doing the right thing as a company, then they [the customers] have no further reason to switch." "Drax takes 10 per cent of the subsidy provided for renewables in the UK, but provides 16 per cent of renewable power. I think biomass has a long-term future." Another new face at Drax Paul Sheffield was appointed chief operating officer at Drax's Haven Power on 5 May. Coming into the role, Sheffield told Utility Week he wants to build on Haven's agility and customer focus to create more bespoke solutions and innovations. The biggest barriers to this include "fragmented technologies that have arisen out of the race to innovate" as well as customer understanding of "what is possible" and lack of resource within customers to realise a new energy vision. Read Utility Week's Q&A with Paul Sheffield online at utilityweek.co.uk.