Helping UK businesses to navigate today’s complex and fast-paced energy market

With more than 24 years’ experience in the energy industry, Sally Phillips oversees npower Business Solutions’ Corporate and Strategic customers – some of the largest industrial and commercial energy users in the UK. 

But her career journey began with humbler beginnings, starting as a temp performing administrative tasks. Over the years, she worked her way up through the organisation, gaining a deep understanding of the nuts and bolts of the energy industry, a foundation of knowledge that still holds her in good stead today.

“Like a lot of people who work in energy in their early jobs, it leads on to other greater things and you realise how interesting the energy industry actually is!

 “After two decades, I’ve seen it from the bottom up. Doing those early administration roles really helped me understand the nuts and bolts of the organisation and I think the way I am with my team is because I've been there, I've sat there, I know what it's like.”

Now, as the Director of Corporate and Strategic, Sally’s focus is on serving large industrial and commercial customers, particularly in sophisticated and complex sectors like manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and chemicals.

Her role spans managing energy supply, metering contracts, power purchase agreements (PPAs), as well as buying the power from commercial generators and supporting customers on their own journey of turning energy into an asset that supports their business.

Sally emphasises the importance of innovation in helping customers to navigate the fast-paced and competitive energy market – never more so relevant than today with a growing raft of new legislation and regulations, alongside massive disruption across global and nationwide energy markets. By providing bespoke solutions tailored to each customer's needs, E.ON supports them in reducing operating costs and in meeting their Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) commitments.

"Our role is to provide innovative choices for our customers – energy is a massive part of any business, especially as we’re often their largest non-operational spend. The heavy industrial customers I look after are large scale and moving in highly competitive, complex, fast-paced markets. They are under huge pressures to reduce their operating costs, make carbon savings and navigate the regulatory market.

"Our customers are under pressure from every angle, but that’s what gives us the opportunities. We’re here to support them, but it’s not off-the-shelf stuff, its more strategic, more forward-thinking and offering products and solutions to help them adapt. We do that by helping our customers to understand how and where they’re using their energy. We work to help them decarbonise, whether it's behind the meter or through more certificated, sophisticated ways like PPAs or REGOs (Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin).

 “Compared to the residential market it’s more sophisticated, it’s more bespoke, it's certainly more of a partnership, helping them to navigate what is a really fast-moving energy market. Given energy is such a high spend, it's a really big conversation.

“We always look at what the customer needs, helping them with clever commercial models to reduce costs and be more competitive. That could be advising them on green products that can support their carbon reporting. Or working with them on reducing costs through energy efficiency measures or generating their own energy on site.  Wherever they are on their energy journey, we are here to guide and support them. It’s about helping them to find the right answers.”

 For Sally it’s the diverse customer market she works in that makes the role so rewarding. Guiding her team through this dynamic landscape and collaborating with some of the largest, most sophisticated organisations brings both exciting challenges and opportunities to provide valuable support.

 “I work with some of the biggest organisations, some of them sophisticated and complex and it’s a big challenge but a really good challenge to be able to help.”

Ultimately, the company’s dedication to innovation and customer-centric solutions aims to not only reduce costs for customers but also support their sustainability goals amidst the evolving energy landscape.

Outside of work, Sally spends her time focusing on family life living in Warwickshire. She is married with two young daughters and two stepsons.