THE Scottish-based green energy company, Together Energy, which Warrington Borough Council has a 50% share – is undergoing real growth, according to new figures.
Warrington Borough Council leader Cllr Russ Bowden says the growth figures are “really encouraging.”
The company has seen a 284% increase in its customer accounts over the past two years – growing from 97,000 in Quarter 4 2019, to 280,000 in Quarter 1 2021.
According to data from energy market research and analysis specialists, Cornwall Insight, the company has also seen its market share grow to 0.7% in the past year. It has now moved from the ‘small supplier’ to ‘medium supplier’ category, and achieved the third fastest quarterly growth of all medium and large suppliers in Quarter 4 of 2020.
The company’s organic growth model projects that this rate of growth would see the company deliver 850,000 customer accounts by 2024.
The Company, as per the business plan, has delivered its first profit for the financial year 2019/20 and is delivering a positive financial return to the Council, in line with the forecast business case when the Council initially invested.
In addition, the company has improved its position within the quarterly energy supplier survey, ranking 16th out of 35 suppliers, above high street names Ovo and E. ON. Consumer champions, Which? has also ranked Together Energy top of its latest league table for being the fastest UK energy supplier to answer customer calls.
This followed the purchae of Bristol Energy’s residential customer base for £14m, acquiring 155,000 residential meter points plus the Bristol Energy brand and systems, which had been set up by Bristol City Council in 2015.
Warrington Borough Council began its partnership with Together Energy in September 2019, with an £18m investment seeing the council take a 50% share-holding in the business. This investment has enabled the company to supply 100% green energy to its customers.
The partnership is an important part of the council’s work to address the climate emergency, tackle fuel poverty and create new job opportunities for local people, as well as generating vital income to protect council services.
Warrington Borough Council Leader, Cllr Russ Bowden, said: “These figures are really encouraging. Our Together Energy partnership will help us address some crucial issues here in Warrington, such as tackling the climate emergency, reducing fuel poverty and generating income for the council – so the growth of the company is great news for our town.
“Another major benefit of this partnership is Together Energy’s strong social ethos, which sees them offering employment and support to young disadvantaged people. This is already bringing real benefits for Warrington, with a number of local, young people gaining employment with the company. The growth of the company will only see these opportunities increase, which can give us great confidence for the future.”
Together Energy has continued to recruit through COVID and has established a new office at the Base. The company has committed to 30 roles in the town, with around 20 of them still to fill. In line with its social ethos, it has sought out staff who have experienced personal hardship and who had found it difficult to find employment.
Together Energy has recently secured funding for the Government’s Kickstart scheme, which will create a further 20 positions for young people in Warrington at risk of long-term unemployment. The company is also in advanced talks with the University of Chester to create an internship programme, which will see the recruitment of students – including young people from Warrington – who are care leavers or have been significantly impacted by COVID-19.
In July 2020, Together Energy signed a supply deal with Orsted – a large Danish Green Energy Supply Company and one of the greenest companies in the world – to supply Together Energy with green energy. The Council is also working with Together Energy on a number of green projects, such as the installation of ground sourced heat pumps on the Council’s Housing Company’s new properties, which are currently being constructed.
Paul Richards, CEO, Together Energy added: “From the beginning Warrington Borough Council has understood our ambitious plans and have been supportive in enabling us to deliver growth. The energy industry is changing at a rapid pace and we have many innovative plans in the pipeline that will help customers understand their energy consumption better and ultimately save money.”
Twelve months ago the company had crashed to the bottom of consumer group Which?’s ratings table.
Chief executive Paul Richards also apologised to customers, hours before the supplier was featured on the BBC’s Rip Off Britain show.
According to Trust Pilot Together Energy claims to be Scotland’s fastest-growing energy company.
It’s based in Dunbartonshire and says it recruits more than 90% of its staff from the poorest 10% of postcodes in Scotland.
This year Which magazine was unable to gather feedback from enough customers to give Together Energy a score. But it was included in their snapshot customer waiting times investigation though, where it was the fastest firm to answer the phone, taking just 51 seconds on average to speak to a person.
Trust Pilot rating were:
Excellent 27%
Great 8%
Average 5%
Poor 5%
Bad 55%
