Change and Transformation in the Private Sector
Faced with the need to establish greater consumer engagement and competition in the retail energy market, in February 2018 Ofgem instructed the Smart Data Communications Company Limited (DCC) to design and implement a new faster and more reliable switching process. DCC procured Netcompany’s services as the sole Systems Integrator (SI) to deliver Ofgem’s £475m Faster Switching Programme (FSP) and ensure a safe migration and big-bang go-live to the new service in July 2022. Our high quality of work and spirit of partnership led to Netcompany being retained as the Switching SI for live operations – a role which we continue to provide today.
Energy consumers in Britain have long been able to change suppliers – but it hasn’t always been quick or easy. In fact, until July 2022, it took an average 28 days for a customer to switch suppliers and around 30% of switches failed to complete, mostly because of fragmented, manual processes with particular problems often observed with address matching. Enabling consumers to change energy suppliers conveniently was key to regulator Ofgem’s goals of ensuring high quality services and stimulating competition in the retail energy market.
The technical challenges involved in delivering the FSP required the close coordination of many individuals and teams across the industry, calling on diverse skills and knowledge at different points in the programme. As the SI, Netcompany sequenced, adjusted and led these activities, maintaining an overarching approach that we flexed in line with changing circumstances and adapted to the varying needs of all the parties involved. In order to deliver FSP, we also had to nurture an ecosystem of stakeholders and specialists for Ofgem and DCC, setting the direction for the programme and driving progress so that the journey would successfully reach its intended destination. The new FSP service is the achievement of everyone who has played a part: it exemplifies the collective effort of an industry determined to improve its competitiveness and reimagine its market.
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