Energy & Utilities Insights
Insights
Actionable insights for the sector's most pressing topics
Challenges like rising debt, sustainability targets, and regulatory reforms are driving suppliers to fundamentally rethink how they operate. At the same time, these shifts present opportunities to differentiate, drive innovation, and enhance customer service. As organisations attempt to balance financial performance with compliance and customer satisfaction, staying ahead of competitors is crucial.
Leveraging the deep expertise of our industry specialists, we help energy and utilities providers to tackle these challenges, and capitalise on opportunities shaping the future of the sector.
INSIGHTS
Energy & Utilities
Why continuous improvement shouldn't stop with operational teams
In this second article in the series, we explore one of the capabilities that consistently separates high-performing leaders from the rest: the ability to think like a continuous improvement leader, regardless of function, role or sector.
MHHS: Where financial performance will be won and lost
As MHHS programmes evolve beyond tech and compliance, suppliers are increasingly focusing on the wider commercial and financial implications. Access our free resource here.
What water can learn from energy's smart meter rollout
As water companies accelerate smart meter rollout, what lessons can they take from energy? Three practical insights to help avoid costly mistakes and deliver lasting value.
Breaking down silos: from fragmented governance to a mission-focused energy system
In this article we focus in on the second key enabler to redesigning the energy system: Breaking down the silos. In Part 2, we delved into Digitalisation at Scale as a key enabler.
Why service quality could be costing B2B energy suppliers more than they think
We explore why poor service can carry a bigger commercial cost than many suppliers expect. Billing errors, missed SLAs and unresolved issues chip away at broker and customer confidence, and relying on individual relationships to plug process gaps creates hidden risk. We also outline what it takes to bring sales, service and ops together as one system.
Video: Sales Excellence at EDF - Strengthening SME customer conversations
In our latest video, Claire Nutt, Director of Small Business at EDF, reflects on her team's experience of developing a tailored Sales Excellence programme with BFY, recently shortlisted as a finalist in the Best Learning & Development category at the UK Customer Experience Awards 2026.
From volume to value: Top themes from our metering and field ops webinar
As the smart meter rollout matures, success is no longer measured by installation volumes alone. See the key themes from our latest webinar, including meter performance, data quality, collaboration and the operational changes organisations need to make as MHHS reshapes the market.
Rethinking where leadership development begins
Leadership development delivers its greatest value when it starts with business priorities rather than training needs. In the first article of our series, we explore five principles that help organisations turn leadership capability into measurable business performance.
Digital leadership in networks: what’s required to close the commitment–delivery gap
If your regulator asked you today to walk them through the connection between your digital investment portfolio and the operational outcomes you have committed to, how confident would you be? Not in the narrative. In the evidence. Not in the next price control, but right now.
Domestic energy debt reaches £4.79bn as the intervention gap widens
Domestic energy debt has reached a record £4.79bn, but the bigger story is how the policy landscape has changed. We explore what the indefinite pause to the Energy Debt Relief Scheme, the July price cap increase and growing levels of unmanaged debt mean for suppliers and the industry's next steps.
Reimagining the Energy System Part 2: Making Digitalisation a Core Capability
To rapidly, and sustainably, deliver future-proof networks we need to embrace, and exploit digitalisation, in all its forms, across the energy sector. Three themes stand out for us.
When process improvement isn't enough - Identifying operating model challenges
Process fixes work well if a problem is confined to a specific team. But when issues are spread across multiple areas, ownership is unclear, and improvement efforts aren't sticking, the problem is structural.
Energy & Utilities
Meet the Team
Ian Barker
Managing Partner
Ian shapes the BFY vision and inspires our team to bring it to life, while remaining central to complex client engagements in Strategy, Commercial, and Operations.
Rachel Littlewood
Partner
Rachel leads our operational and financial turnaround engagements, helping to solve complex operational challenges while maximising commercial performance and customer outcomes.
Kelly Payne
Director
Kelly helps clients achieve operational excellence to improve customer outcomes, employee engagement, and optimising cost to serve.
Energy & Utilities
Our Impact
Strategic analysis identifies ~£103m in opportunities for energy retailer
We delivered strategic analysis for a large energy retailer, identifying up to ~£103m in incremental revenue opportunities, through a comprehensive Market Scan Analysis and Sales Channel Maturity Assessment.
Cash recovery initiatives deliver ~£275m benefit for large Energy supplier
Our debt team supported a large Energy supplier with recovering their cash position, achieving a total benefit of ~£275m through collaborative initiatives.
£8.5m cash collection for large energy retailer
We helped a large energy retailer to generate immediate in-year debt benefits through tactical interventions. Our programme delivered ~£4.5m in Bad Debt benefit and ~£8.5m in cash collection, all while maintaining customer and productivity measures within the operation.
Large energy supplier avoids ~£7.5m in complaints costs
We supported a large energy supplier with a transformation programme, looking at how they can manage their complaints inflow and address the growing backlog. The programme transformed their complaints capability and resulted in ~£7.5m in cost avoidance.
Collections improvements deliver ~£5m cash for Water retailer
We supported a B2B Water retailer with a series of collections improvements, achieving a cash uplift of ~£5m in five months.
Tactical debt improvements deliver ~£7m cash for large Energy retailer
A large Energy retailer was facing significant challenges with customer debt, requiring improvements to their collections processes to mitigate this. Their total debt was ~£100m at the time of engaging BFY, with communication gaps present across the customer debt journey.
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