‘Source, generate, supply’ is the model the pioneering Drax Group now operates. The group has three principal businesses – Drax Biomass, Drax Power, and Haven Power, – working together as one group with the same shared commitment, to provide low carbon, cost-effective and reliable renewable power well into the future. But what does this mean for Haven Power’s customers?
Part of Drax since 2009, Haven Power has seen impressive growth during this time thanks to its alternative offering and strong parent company. Drax itself has evolved almost beyond recognition, now well on its way to becoming a predominantly biomass-fuelled generator. This transformation will see the UK’s previous single largest source of carbon dioxide emissions become one of the largest renewable generators in Europe.
With these developments, addressing the way the three businesses work together to reflect the changes was crucial.
“Drax Biomass is developing and operating wood pellet plants, Drax is generating renewable power from biomass and we are supplying the power to customers,” explains Haven Power’s sales and marketing director, Richard Robey. “We want to have consistent values across the group, ensuring we work closely together as one business to deliver financial and sustainability benefits to a growing number of our customers and stakeholders.”
Customer benefits
Haven’s customers benefit from having the option of securing power generated from Drax’s biomass facility which is exempt from the Climate Change Levy (CCL). This is proving extremely popular with those businesses wanting to become more sustainable, particularly as Levy Exempt Power is available at no extra cost compared to power generated from conventional fuels sources. Approximately 50 percent of the electricity Haven Power supplied in 2013 was on Levy Exempt Power.
“We know that companies value having the option of taking renewable power and a big reason for this is that their customers value it too. It really is a win-win situation,” continues Richard. “In addition, last year we relocated Drax’s power traders to the Haven office to create a single power trading desk, which sells power into the wholesale market and buys power for our customers. Drax has no separate trading function which means our customers have quicker access to the live wholesale market prices and ensures we provide them with the best possible rates for their electricity.”
The future
One thing Haven is committed to not changing is its customer-focused proposition. Originally set up to properly serve the needs of the SME market – who were traditionally either treated as domestic customers or as I&C – the company has not lost sight of its very personal approach.
“What sets us apart from the large multinational suppliers is that we ensure each and every customer has a named contact, we don’t have a call centre,” says Richard. “Our friendly approach has proved to be a success; we get very positive feedback from customers and consultants so it’s a strategy that we’ll maintain.”
And, as well as making sure customers are treated like individuals, the supplier is also investing in innovative new systems and processes to make the entire power purchasing process simpler and, overall, better for the customer while adjusting proactively as the regulatory regime continues to evolve.
“We’ve just launched an online portal which allows our I&C customers to view their account information at any time of the day or night. We want customers to feel in control of how they purchase their electricity and also ensure what we offer is completely transparent,” adds Richard.
Haven is dedicated to listening to feedback in order to offer customers what they want and need for their electricity contracts. In 2012, it was the first supplier in the industry to respond to the sudden and dramatic increase in non-energy costs. Larger suppliers find it more different to innovate, but Haven was able to react quickly and updated its product range to ensure customers have a variety of options to choose from depending on their risk appetite or need for budget certainty.
So what’s next from Haven? Richard says: “Apart from seeing our new brand identity appearing across our communications, this year is about continued growth, retaining our existing customer base, and ensuring we keep our customer-focused proposition as we grow.”
