More than 6,000 homes and businesses have benefitted from rapid energy supplier switching within just days of the launch of OFGEM’s centralised switching service (CSS) thanks to Chorley-based energy sector technology expert ESG.
Within just days of the launch (18th July), thousands of consumers and businesses have been able to benefit from ESG’s technology, and switch providers within just 24 hours.
Designed to enable energy users to switch suppliers seamlessly and to reduce switching times from three weeks to just one working day, the CSS is Ofgem’s compulsory service that all energy suppliers must offer, driving carbon reduction, fairness and transparency in the sector. It will help consumers to benefit from potential cost savings and green initiatives quickly and easily, enhancing the quality of data for users and suppliers, and increasing reliability across the UK energy market.
Chorley-based ESG has liaised closely with the regulator since the CSS was first announced and began developing the Halo adapter in 2019. Halo eases integration between energy suppliers to enable faster and smoother switching for their customers, while avoiding any disruption to their back office systems. This has enabled the 29 energy suppliers now using Halo to operate as normal and remain compliant at every stage of the transition to the CSS, and ESG has been able to help its customers to meet every deadline set by Ofgem.
ESG’s programme director, Elaine Eyles, explains: “For energy suppliers, the faster switching programme has been a long-term, compulsory and complex process. By developing Halo, ESG has been able to remove layers of complexity for our customers, allowing them to focus on their business.
“Our job has been to deliver for our customers, enabling them to comply with new rules, and to adapt to new tech formats and file integration. Halo has achieved all of that, and we are really proud to have provided a solution that has enabled a third of energy companies to transition to CSS requirements so easily from day one. The proof of that success is in the 6,000 rapid switches that were achieved in the first three days after the CSS launch.”
The Halo adapter has helped energy companies achieve such a smooth transition by absorbing most of the technical change within ESG systems. The company’s in-house energy sector tech specialists handled all the requirements of the switching programme for the 29 energy companies now using Halo, including multiple levels of mandatory testing across several applications. Working with both energy suppliers and third parties, ESG embedded testing in the development process to ensure seamless integration ready for the CSS launch.
So Energy is one of the 29 suppliers that has successfully begun switching customers using the CSS thanks to ESG’s Halo adapter. Charlie Davies from So Energy comments: “We’re really happy with the support we received from ESG throughout the Faster Switching program. This has helped us deliver the project on time and continue to provide our customers with great service.”
The Halo adapter builds on ESG’s reputation as a technology specialist for the energy sector, which has seen the company provide solutions to help deliver massive industry changes for energy suppliers for the past 20 years. ESG has 400+ industry experts supporting more than 300 energy suppliers and 35million energy users on its energy platform in the UK, US and Japan.
Elaine Eyles adds: “As the energy sector tackles the challenges of carbon reduction, price volatility, supply chains and customer care, our role is to support energy suppliers with the tech that enables them to embrace change and drive continuous improvement. The Halo adapter is just one example of that innovation and expertise.”
