We need to keep going hell-for-leather on renewables' says Octopus Energy boss

"It’s simple: if we'd moved to renewables sooner as a continent, the crisis wouldn’t be as bad now. And we can’t carry on like this, we have to escape from these colossal gas prices from the global markets," said Greg Jackson, founder and CEO of UK's Octopus Energy.

The critical role of renewable energy and the need to expedite projects were some of the issues emphasised in an exclusive interview with Greg Jackson, who has a clear passion for putting the consumer first.

Jackson also spoke to the increasingly important contribution of decentralised energy and digitalisation as fundamentals to their consumer-centric business model.

What needs to change in the UK’s energy system to make it fit for purpose?

Historically, the creation, testing and licensing of a vaccine took around 15 years. With Covid, we managed to get the 15-year process of developing a vaccine down to one year. We need to do the same with wind energy. Due to planning approvals and grid connections, it currently takes on average five-to-seven years to build and connect a wind farm. This could be done in one year. Do that now and we will literally start seeing bills come down next winter.

Renewable energy is already the cheapest source of electricity with wind energy now costing 5p/kWh on average. We need to keep going hell-for-leather on renewables, policymakers need to review planning permissions and retailers need to make it cheaper for customers to install and run low carbon heating or small-scale renewable generation. Together we can create an energy system that benefits people, their pockets and the planet.

In light of recent discussions to boost onshore wind development, will we see more turbines being built as part of decentralised, minigrid-type projects, which could make energy more affordable for local communities?

We’re big fans of a decentralised grid. Octopus Energy created the innovative ‘Fan Club’ model, where customers get cut price energy when their local wind turbines are spinning, with discounts climbing as the wind speed picks up.

You don’t need to put more copper wires in the ground in order to provide this green energy locally, but rather make it virtual, and give customers the benefit.

Given the strong interest in the ‘Fan Club’ - we’ve received 14,000-plus requests for a local ‘Fan’ - we’ve also created a platform for developing more on-shore wind turbines - we call it ‘Winder’.

This is match-making where communities register interest in hosting a turbine where landowners have suitable land, overlaid with data on grid availability, wind speeds, the environmental impact and more.

We choose to provide a discount on this energy and connect up all parts of the value chain because we believe renewables should be brought closer to the consumer.

We will be able to build even more cheap wind if people living near generation projects can enjoy cheaper electricity when their local turbine is spinning. We’re showing that cheap green electrons generated close by shouldn’t cost as much as those generated further afield.

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Octopus Energy is expanding into markets outside the UK, where is your focus in terms of regional expansion and even technology expansion?

Octopus Energy already has a global footprint with retail energy operations or renewable generation in 14 countries, and we’re really passionate about bringing cheaper, local, green energy to even more communities across the globe.

Our operating model is unique and the only reason why it’s possible is Kraken, our technology platform which we built from scratch.

Kraken is the heart and veins of Octopus – it runs through every part of our business, connecting teams, enabling products and allowing for exceptional customer experience.

Where other suppliers rely on convoluted solutions for different functions, Kraken integrates them all into one giant robot, offering relentless efficiency, better customer service and end-to-end management of the whole supply chain to allow us and our licensees to save costs, take better care of customers and drive the green energy revolution.

But we know we can’t drive change quickly enough if we’re on our own. So we’re licensing Kraken to other large energy companies across the globe who share our vision of a cleaner, better energy future, including E.ON, EDF and Origin Energy.

By enabling companies across the world to decarbonise their energy supply, look after their customers more efficiently and build products that truly enable the green energy revolution, we can reach net zero faster than ever before.

We don’t just want to expand Kraken either, we can even expand the products it enables - like the ‘Fan Club’. While the model started in the UK, lots of other countries are expressing interest and we have visions to scale this internationally - and quickly.

We want to have at least 1,000 wind turbines in the UK and 1,000 across the globe on the Fan Club by 2030. Italy, Germany and France are particularly interesting markets.

As head of Octopus Energy, what are your goals, what is Octopus Energy looking to achieve?

John Kay said in his book Obliquity that complex goals are best achieved indirectly – it is not always the most obvious route that ends in success.

The important thing for a leader is that you don’t lose sight of your overall goal. Make the end goal the number one purpose for your business. Make sure every business decision helps to deliver that goal, even if it is an extremely long term one, then it will be successful.

So far we deliberately haven’t made a profit. Instead, we’ve focused on scaling the business, investing in new green technologies and making sure there is enough support available to our customers who are struggling.

We are lucky to have investors that believe in our long term goal and are absolutely committed to helping us achieve this, so we don’t have to worry about short term profits to achieve our number one purpose, making green energy cheap energy around the world.

What or who inspires you to get up every morning and keep working towards these goals?

When I was a kid, my single mum worked in a pub at night whilst studying during the day to support us, but our energy still got cut off more than once because she didn’t pay the bills in time. That experience left a lasting memory.

But what tipped me over was another experience I made years later when I was an adult. I opened a bill from my energy supplier and saw that it was shockingly high - the rates had gone up a lot since the last time I had checked.

So I rang them up to find out that my contract had run out and I had been bumped up to a more expensive contract. The customer service person I spoke to was very nice and offered to put me back on a cheaper fixed tariff, so I happily accepted. A year later the same thing happened again and I thought ‘how can they get away with ripping their loyal customers off with these tease-and-squeeze tactics'?.

I had built digital platforms for e-commerce and other sectors before to digitise and increase efficiency, and I quickly had a flash of inspiration that applying the same technology to energy would greatly improve the way things are done in the sector. That’s why I made the decision to start Octopus Energy. I was determined to make energy better for people by driving down energy prices and delivering the best possible customer service, and that - along with the brilliant team behind me - keeps me going to this day!

Greg Jackson is speaking in the opening keynote at Enlit Europe in Frankfurt 29 Nov - 3 Dec.

Register for Enlit Europe to hear more from Jackson about how to achieve energy security
and a green transition.