Spotlight on....Zoisa, Octopus Energy Generation CEO

I sat down with her to discuss her journey to Octopus Energy Generation, and how they do things differently.

Zoisa: I lead the team that run Octopus Energy Generation as well as Octopus Energy for Business which provides over 70,000 business customers with green energy. I also manage our Octopus Electroverse tech platform, which is our virtual network of 600,000 chargers for EV drivers.

Zoisa: Our approach is very different to others in this space; we want to create an abundance of green electrons and to pass on these super cheap electrons for customers to use. I just don't think there's another organisation out there with this approach to investing in generation. We genuinely care about improving the energy system to one that is 100% green, and providing cheap energy to consumers.

Zoisa: Our goal has always been to utilise renewable energy in the most efficient and customer friendly way, so focusing on generation just made sense. In the most practical sense; when the wind blows, we want customers to be able to get a cheaper energy bill and the most obvious way to make that a reality was to buy our own wind turbines. We started investing in areas where there was a strong demand and it was immediately a huge success. In fact, as I speak we have over 20,000 inquiries from people wanting turbines near their homes to provide cheaper electricity.

Zoisa: There is a lot of public misconception around the support we need from governments, for example, for lots of types of established renewables where costs have plummeted over the last decade like onshore wind and solar, we actually don’t require any subsidies. Onshore wind and solar are consistently the lowest cost of generation that we can possibly build. And we know they both have massive support from the public too. Ultimately, it’s about working together to give people what they want; which is wind farms, solar power and affordable energy.

Zoisa: I’m not someone that ever looks at things as challenges, but I do see lots of opportunities. Particularly, there is a massive opportunity for renewables here in the UK and around the world and we have a long way to go to fulfill our potential.

Zoisa: Definitely the people I get to work with, who bring so much to the table. I wouldn’t have been able to achieve any of the things we have without the inspiring, motivated, brilliant people helping to drive this change. I first started working in sustainable energy years ago when people didn’t really understand the importance of renewables so seeing public perception evolve has made me hopeful. Particularly, seeing the impact of people like David Attenborough and Greta Thunberg driving awareness of climate change is inspiring.

Zoisa: Our Fan Club is the UK’s first energy tariff that allows customers to benefit from cheaper electricity by using the energy their local turbines produce.

Our vision with Fan Club is to pass on the savings of local wind power to people: whether they can afford to invest in the wind turbine or not.

Typically previous community energy projects involved large upfront investment, £1000s of pounds that most people can’t afford. It can then take years to get a full return on that investment. That approach can really alienate people in the community who most need access to affordable energy.

Zoisa: That's the inherent challenge of renewable energy and why it’s so important that we continue building our green electrified world, where we can use all those generated electrons. By 2040 we will have at least 40 million electric cars on UK roads, which will allow us to return energy back to the grid through innovations like vehicle-to-grid charging, where your car powers your home. And over the next decade, we will have more domestic and business models to consume and store energy.

Zoisa: That was an easy decision, looking at the sheer passion of people across the business that wanted to make a difference, and make the energy industry accessible for all.

It was clear it was a time to act, in the days after the Black Lives Matter protests, and we felt this people-driven Fund would allow us to make the most impact. As a woman of colour I was delighted to be involved, knowing the difficult history my family experienced when they first migrated to the UK in the 40’s. At Octopus, we always want to empower people to take action, and it’s been wonderful seeing the work.

Zoisa: I originally studied History and Archaeology at University, and what I loved about those two degrees was the knowledge that there was a story behind every fact. It taught me to always look at the bigger picture. After graduating I quickly realised that I didn’t want to be an archaeologist, as it was far too cold and I didn’t want to spend my time turning blue in the UK rain.

Instead, I knew I liked being creative and storytelling so I started a decade-long career in PR. I ran two PR agencies and at 30 realised I had hit a ceiling so I started working in Communications for an Energy client that was building an offshore wind farm. Within two or three years I went on to run that company which was super exciting. One day, I came across a newspaper featuring Greg talking about the energy industry and I reached out for a chat as I loved his approach of marrying technology with energy to benefit customers. We had lunch and by the end of it Greg had offered me a job.

Zoisa: I’m really proud we were able to create a sustainable, human and customer-focused business. We incorporated technology, sustainable energy sources and innovative tariffs to provide a great service to businesses across the country. We even created a charity pot for our clients to donate to which was really successful. I also loved engaging with sustainable projects like vertical farming which is crucial in our fast-changing world where conventional farming is often very unpredictable.

We were also able to support the rapid roll out of Electric Vehicle (EV) charging (check out my interview with Gurjeet to get all the insight into our EV team). This work led us to innovating and building Octopus Elevtroverse which allows EV drivers to have easy access to hundreds of thousands of charge points all across Europe from hundreds of brands - which has been a runaway success.

Zoisa: I am a great animal lover, and I have a little pack of 3 dogs and 3 horses. I disconnect through walks and being with my horses who I consider to be great teachers for how to deal with people. I actually think I get a lot of my leadership style from my great love of animals, as there are valuable lessons to be learnt. You can’t come on too strong or overbearing, it can’t be hierarchical and you have to earn respect. You also learn you have to be open and honest to connect. Everybody wants to feel empowered and trusted and there are times when you have to step back and times when you have to put your arm around someone in support.

We’re constantly looking to expand, searching for cutting edge, innovative renewable generation to create a green future.

Zoisa: With Octopus Energy for Business it took us half the time we expected to reach our estimated targets so I hope any estimates we make now will look conservative in a few years. However, these sorts of targets aren’t what's most important to us. Ultimately, it’s about providing a great service to our customers, and creating a clean, green world for future generations.