For some time, Australia’s energy sector has considered the digital revolution as a “long fuse slow burn” use case, with the main retail value game being based on load, customer numbers, wholesale energy success and retail tariff management (and of course operational cost control).
However, more recent changes in public policy, behind the meter asset proliferation, technology advances, consumer engagement and net zero strategies has moved our industry into its most transformative era since deregulation with new technology, AI and data management at its core.
Having led major energy retail and metering transformation operations since Retail and Metering contestability rule changes came into force over the last 20 years, I’ve seen, first-hand, that a largely “reactive” approach to customer experience (CX) has been a “comfortable” strategy that has profited many players in the market.
BUT the game is up and has now fundamentally changed. If I can borrow a phrase from one of my most successful and favourite leaders in my executive career, it’s time to “Change or Die”.
If we think about CX in energy, historical practices have revolved (in the main) around post issue customer remediation dealing with billing / tariff disputes, bill shock management and complaints all post fact issues. For devotees of customer value and customer satisfaction in energy, you will know NPS or alternative CSAT measures in energy are consequently and unsurprisingly low by other industry standards.
Energy retailers of course are no longer your main competitors, so shifting your focus to relative NPS vis other retailers is not a winning play.
This is one of the reasons I would propose this model is no longer sustainable, and the forces driving this change are not capabilities that have been the “levers” executives in energy retail have pulled to drive value in the “old model”.
At the core of this revolution is the convergence of new BTM products, enhanced consumer engagement, data and technology. The days of adopting strategies because energy has been “reliable and cheap” and a low engagement product category are clearly behind us.
As a passionate advocate of increasing consumer engagement in energy, I have come to the view to understand how to navigate this change required a change in my skill set, in particular across data, AI and technology.
To that end, in recent times, I have partnered with Centelon Solution to share and exchange ideas to learn and share energy and technology insights with the end objective of helping retail colleagues navigate what I have historically considered to be a very “scary space”.
I thought I’d share a few preliminary ideas across this domain and invite all you to provide any feedback or experiences you think are relevant.
The Critical Shift: Data, AI and the Acceleration of Change
If we look to data points as indicators of where we might focus our attention, energy retail executives today face an extraordinary convergence of challenges and opportunities. Here are some salient facts.
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- Data fragmentation may be considered a “plague” for energy operations, affecting over 75% of firms. We all know how silos delay decision making, drive up compliance costs, and cripple innovation. The customer has always been king and siloed operations are more destructive now than ever given the proliferation of engagement & data points.
- Latency in data use is a real revenue killer and revenues from new products represent the most significant value risks for “new energy” businesses. Delays of even a few minutes can cause missed alerts or billing anomalies. For behind the meter solutions like smart solar, EV integration and VPP’s these lags are not just inconvenient they’re commercially destructive.
- AI adoption is no longer optional. Yet while 16% of Australian utilities have adopted AI, most are still treating it as a reporting tool rather than an activation engine. The result? Untapped insight, underwhelming CX improvements, and frustrated customers.
As someone who has launched a range of new businesses and capabilities both in front of and behind the meter, I’ve learned that deploying tech isn’t enough real value is only unlocked when digital innovation is fused with deep customer empathy and operational readiness.
A few ideas – Re-Architecting Energy CX: What Must Change?
I, like I suspect all readers of this blog, see the scale and pace of change as being challenging to navigate. Where do I start? what investments do I make? and can I progress in a commercially sensible way to “earn as I grow”. Here are some thought starters of areas that we see as being “winning ideas”
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- AI That Acts, Not Just Analyses
Imagine systems that detect change and automatically trigger corrective workflows and product positions or forecast high demand days and tailor usage alerts and behavioural change at a household level. The detail will depend on your product/ proposition, but using AI to support product and proposition delivery will be key to long term success.
- Hyper-Personalisation
Australia’s $162B energy management sector is diverse and hyperlocal. It’s not enough today to send generic messages about energy usage. With cloud-native and API-first platforms, we can now build real-time segmented propositions and highly tailored experiences from proactive outage updates to household-specific tariff optimisation acting for the customers without customers “having to do anything”.
This level of engagement is transformational for customer experience the days of negative or small positive NPS can finally be behind us, and we can sustainably move out businesses from reporting customer numbers to customer value.
- Trust Through Ethical AI
We cannot also not ignore the public’s rising concern about AI 58% of Australians are uneasy about AI misuse. Trust will define the winners and losers in the next decade. Ethical frameworks must be embedded in every customer algorithm explainability, fairness, data privacy.
- Empowering the Front Lines
In field operations, access to predictive insights is critical to slash response times and improve first-time fix rates. Front-line enablement transforms CX especially when paired with smart metering and real-time diagnostics. It’s not just about speed; it’s about confidence and consistency in the service journey.
- Supporting more Prosumer propositions
As more customers take control of their energy use by the rapidly accelerating behind the meter propositions, Energy retailers must evolve from commodity suppliers to energy partners. This change fundamentally changes the data and technology environment for energy retailers, with success being a “must win”.
The Time for Transformation is Now – so how do we do it?
The business case for CX transformation is paradoxical. Most executives and boards would agree we have to do it but also recognise revenues and consumer support for our plans in new markets are uncertain. So, what should we do?
From a technology perspective, Centelon’s multi-industry and domain exposure in this space would recommend an API-first, cloud-native architecture to reduce fragmentation, while AI-driven engines convert raw data into real-time, revenue generating action.
At a commercial level we would propose the following approaches
- Start small but fast with pilots that deliver measurable CX gains (e.g., 30% faster resolution times). Pick 1 or 2 and “test and learn”
- Embed customer centric design into every AI use case.
- Ensure governance frameworks build customer trust, not just compliance. Think of how in recent years our trust in digital has diminished and the pressures this is placing on all service providers.
- Break down internal barriers between technology, compliance, and customer operations.
If you are interested in further discussions or an overview from us on how we can advise apply specific ideas to your existing capabilities to manage this transformation, don’t hesitate to connect to us. We’d love to share our ideas and insights and support our collective desire for an engaged, satisfied energy consumer supporting the decarbonisation of our grid.
