PowerGen puts energy into ecommerce

NEWS Ecommerce is crucial to the future of UK utility giant, PowerGen, but the country's leading gas and electricity supplier is taking its first steps onto the Web slowly. In an exclusive video interview with Silicon.com, Colin Beveridge, head of IT services, Powergen, said: "Ecommerce has got to be embedded in everything we do for the future. PowerGen is an organisation with 2.5 million domestic customers, so ecommerce is going to be very important for us in the future. We've made some inroads into it so far but we've got a lot more to do." PowerGen is using Lotus Notes as its initial internal workflow system. But its plans include Web sites, intranets, bulletin boards and Web-enabled self-service systems for customers. But as Beveridge explained, the company is making sure its internal systems are up to scratch first: "We're using the technology ourselves within the business so that we can build up the skills base and flush out the issues before we have to exploit them commercially. We're adapting the technology ourselves for our own processes." He added: "I think the fundamental requirement is the focus on business process to make sure that's right before we go out to any sort of Web technology and make sure we're coming from a firm foundation." The company has a strong internal development team, which Beveridge hopes can produce the right solution. "The only given for the future is change and we have to be prepared to react flexibly and to adapt ourselves to changing circumstances." To see the full interview with Colin Beveridge watch Silicon.com's Utilities Channel.