When did you take up your position with the company and what does your role involve?
I joined Utilitrack in 2012 as CEO. I’m responsible for the strategic direction of the company, looking at how best to meet clients’ needs, and keeping up to date with industry legislation, trends and best practise. My vision for Utilitrack is to be the premier choice for commercial energy solutions with businesses and organisations big and small. We are also building a company with a friendly, professional culture, where team members feel valued and consider Utilitrack as the best place they have ever worked.
What specific products/services does your company offer to businesses & organisations?
The cornerstone of Utilitrack’s offering is helping decision makers within businesses, charities and organisations make informed choices about commercial energy and water contracts by simplifying what is a complex and confusing market. The costs, terms and features of energy contracts can vary wildly between suppliers and when further complexity is added by intermediaries who only care about their own profits, there’s a lot that can go wrong. Longer contracts are the perfect way to lock-in savings and protect against a volatile market, but make the wrong decision up front and the pain can be prolonged.
We also help clients who are on their journey to net zero by tracking carbon use, procuring green energy and cutting carbon emissions by integrating solar energy generation and battery storage solutions. Our ‘pay as you use’ solar and battery storage options will reduce energy costs and means there is no need to tie up capital or waste money on expensive finance.
So, if that decision maker wants to reduce heating, lighting and water bills, we’re the first place they should come.
Could you walk us through the key features and benefits of your product/service tailored for businesses & organisations?
Clients don’t want to pay more than they need to for energy, and they certainly don’t want to pay more than their competitors. Getting two or three quotes from household name energy suppliers is a start, but what if you could get a wide range of quotes from both the big suppliers and smaller, niche suppliers you might never have heard of? Better still, what if you only had to share your data with one company, thus avoiding endless emails and calls, future spam and hard to compare quotes.
When you ask Utilitrack to help with buying energy, we don’t just do all the leg work for you, we give you choice by working with a panel of 30 plus suppliers and standardising the results so you can ‘compare apples with apples’. This comes in the form of a bespoke Market Comparison Report. Furthermore, all the nuances of each supplier, like which tariff elements are fixed and which are variable, are explained up front. The result is you save both time and money, know what you’re buying, plus you can have confidence you’ve got the right deal.
How does your company approach pricing and affordability to ensure accessibility for a wide range of businesses?
We will always try to include a quote from your existing supplier so you can benchmark costs against what you were paying, what you would be paying if you stayed with your current supplier and what differences could be made by switching. Equally, switching supplier isn’t always the right thing to do. Staying with your current supplier might be your best option. You just need the right information to make an informed decision. That’s where we come in. Suppliers pay us the same whether you stay or switch supplier, which means the information we present is impartial.
Perhaps the biggest challenge to understanding costs is how some suppliers offer low unit rates but load other charges, while others offer average unit rates but really good prices on all the other costs, such as daily standing charges. Cheapest doesn’t always mean best. Utilitrack’s Market Comparison Report removes the confusion and reduces the risk of entering into the wrong energy contract.
As far as helping with affordability, depending on how much electricity is used, Utilitrack might be able to offer a ‘pay as you use’ solar power and battery storage option, reducing energy costs by up to 30-40%.
How do you stay updated with the evolving needs and trends within your sector?
Energy and sustainability issues are rarely out of the news and getting things right for a client can make the difference between them staying in business or going under. That’s why Utilitrack values its membership of the Utilities Intermediaries Association and the Energy Consultants Association. Under direct scrutiny from the regulator OFGEM, both organisations help us remain at the vanguard of the industry, meeting the standards expected and giving clients the assurance their interests are always considered.
Can you share any upcoming projects or initiatives that your company is working on to better serve businesses?
There are numerous businesses and organisations that would embrace solar power and battery storage if they had the available capital to invest or access to low-cost finance. Recognising this constraint, Utilitrack has developed a solution that does away with the need for investment or borrowing to benefit from lower cost 100% green energy and the savings offered by battery storage. Backed by venture capital funding, clients can now have solar and battery solutions installed on their sites on a ‘pay as you use’ basis, enabling them to save up to 30%/40% on their commercial electricity bills.
Whether motivated through corporate values, legislation or supply chain requirements, Utilitrack will help clients produce a carbon reduction plan and track carbon emissions through an industry leading software platform. To help clients get started, Utilitrack offers an extended no cost trial so clients can see the value before integrating fully into their normal working practise.
How does your company differentiate itself from competitors within your market?
One key leveller is the way we are paid. When Utilitrack arranges an energy contract for a client, the chosen supplier pays us a commission for the initial and ongoing services we provide. However, regardless of which supplier or tariff the client chooses the amount is exactly the same – even if the client stays with the existing supplier. This means we can put the client’s needs above our own interests.
One other differentiator is our low staff turnover, compared with our competitors. Out team like working for Utilitrack because of the standards we uphold and the way we treat our clients. The benefit to our clients is that they can often speak to the same person throughout their time with us.
Can you share examples of successful case studies or testimonials from previous clients?
York Minster, one of the UK’s most famous cathedrals, came to Utilitrack looking to lower energy bills and hasten their journey to becoming a net zero site by 2030. The results were astounding. The easy part for us was providing 100% renewable energy contracts; the real impact was saving them a projected £330,000 over the next three years. The cathedral is now undergoing surveys to install our ‘pay as you use’ solar power generation and battery storage solutions, propelling them to Eco Church Gold status.
What specific challenges or pain points do your products/services aim to address for businesses?
It’s quite common for the gap between energy contract renewals three or more years. This means the buyer must swat up on market language and trends and become an energy expert all over again. If they don’t, they risk being ripped off by an unscrupulous salesperson. It’s a confusing market at the best of times. No two energy suppliers explain things in the same way and the whole exercise can be stressful, time consuming and ultimately costly for a very long time if mistakes are made. That’s where our Market Comparison Report becomes an essential ally. I wouldn’t even say the Report is invaluable, because it’s plain to see exactly how much you will save, right down to the penny. It will present choices that you might never have known existed and levels the playing field for suppliers.
How has feedback from your client base influenced the development and improvement of your products/services over time?
Utilitrack has been listening to clients since day one in 2009. When clients started to ask for green energy, we found suppliers who could deliver. When the energy crisis hit the UK in 2021 resulting in several suppliers going bust, we worked tirelessly with affected clients to reduce the impact and protect them against future price spikes. When clients told us they wanted solar power and battery storage solutions but couldn’t afford the investment, we gave them a way to go solar and install batteries on a ‘pay as you use’ basis. If feedback is the breakfast of champions, then Utilitrack has an insatiable appetite.
Can you discuss any strategic partnerships or collaborations your company has forged with suppliers to enhance its offerings?
Energy suppliers are integral to our business, and many take an active role through conducting annual audits of our processes and ethics. Utilitrack’s longevity and success, along with the loyalty of our clients, is in no small part due to sustaining these vital partnerships. They rely on us to bring them the shape and size of clients they are looking for and we rely on them to look after our clients when entrusted to them. It’s very much a two-way street.
Can you share insights into your company’s scalability plans and how you envision expanding your reach within the in the coming years?
Utilitrack operates nationwide and we continue to grow our franchise network alongside an in-house team and hybrid workers. Each member of the team brings their own unique skill set and experience to the table while we provide them with the training, systems and support to operate effectively. With just about every commercial premises in the UK having the potential to need Utilitrack’s services, there’s a long way to go before we’ll reach capacity. The beauty of the way we set up our systems is that they are entirely scalable to meet the growing demand for our services.
What are your thoughts on the future of your industry sector, and how do you see your company evolving to meet changing demands?
For as long as a business or organisation heats stuff up, cools stuff down, lights things up or flushes things down, they could benefit from what Utilitrack has to offer. We are all about reducing costs, which in turn increases profits. If they need sustainable solutions, either through choice, legislation or supply chain demands, then we can make it happen. Current and future governments will always be interested in how the nation is powered. Nuclear, solar and wind power generation is set to increase over the next 10 years, but it may be just as long before this translates into lower bills.
In the meantime, complexities will continue, new charges will appear on bills and global events will impact wholesale energy prices. This means energy costs will always be high on the agenda.
We will remain agile to respond as policies, best practises and trends develop. One thing is for sure; for a company that ensures its clients can turn on their lights in the morning, we have a very bright future.
Enzo Testa, CEO @ Utilitrack