TotalEnergies Gas & Power

The faster, more reliable Switching Programme regulated by Ofgem, due to go live on 18th July 2022, will significantly reduce the time it takes to switch energy supplier. It will improve reliability of the switching process through better management and oversight of industry data.

A new, flexible, Centralised Switching Service (CSS) for gas and electricity switches will be able to respond to the significant changes already underway in the energy market.

In advance of go-live, we caught up with Rob Kerr, project sponsor, and William Humphreys, project owner, to find out a little more on the subject:

Q: The Faster Switching programme has been quite a topic of conversation across our organisation recently?           

Rob Kerr: It has indeed, and for good reason. Faster Switching is the name of Ofgem’s regulatory project to enable consumers switch their supply faster and more efficiently, and it will go-live across the industry in exactly three weeks from now!        

Q: It’s not a new project though, is it?                       

William Humphreys: Not really. The Faster Switching programme has been going, in some form or another, across the industry since 2018. The Covid pandemic put the brakes on and the energy crisis has had an impact, but the project picked up again at the beginning of this year and we’ve been working hard to deliver the new technical and process solutions in time.

Q: Am I right in thinking we’re having to make a lot of changes internally? 

Rob Kerr: As you’d expect, to offer consumers the ability to switch in as little as 2 working days we need to be able to react fast. Many of our internal processes needed looking at to enable us to deliver to the new deadlines. I’m glad to say we’ve improved and automated processes that have needed review for a while!            

Q: And how does everyone find out about the detail of the changes?                     

William Humphreys: Well hopefully, everyone will have by now completed the Micro eLearning module which highlights the fundamentals of Faster Switching. Those who need to know the real in-depth changes and how they impact their day to day roles and responsibilities have been invited to join virtual training sessions, which start today. All of the training materials, and the relevant quick reference guides and cheat sheets are available to access on the Faster Switching MSTeams Communications site.

Q: And what happens once Faster Switching goes live?                 

William Humphreys: Once Faster Switching goes live we’ll be in full on support mode! As you can imagine, when our jobs and processes change – even if we’re trained and have the necessary materials to hand – there is always a period of discomfort and uncertainty whilst we get used to new systems, or ways of doing things.

The project team have a hypercare plan in place to support everyone and ensure their questions, concerns and issues are resolved as quickly as possible. Keep your eyes peeled for detailed information a little closer to go-live.

Q: Sounds like the next three weeks are going to be exciting!         

Rob Kerr: They definitely are. The final push to go-live of any project is always tense, but it’s important to remember that as an organisation we deal with regulatory changes on a regular basis. We have first class people here at TEGP and I’m confident that every one of them, from the technical and business experts involved in the project itself, to those in broader supporting functions, will ensure we deliver on our commitment to offer faster, more reliable switching to our customers.        

For further information regarding the Faster Switching programme, including FAQs and training materials, please take a look at the Teams communications site.