appears to have a close connection with its subject . it may require cleanup to comply with wikipedia s content policies particularly neutral point of view . please discuss further on the talk page . july 2016 learn how and when to remove this template message first utility industry utilities founded 2008 headquarters warwick united kingdom area served united kingdom products gas & electricity website www.first utility.com first utility is a supplier of gas and electricity in the united kingdom based in warwick . in october 2013 the company was ranked as the seventh largest supplier in the uk making it the largest outside the big 6 . 1 by september 2014 the company had a market share of 2 % . 2 3 unlike the big 6 the company does not generate electricity instead purchasing it from international markets . the company has a relationship with shell which sees it act as an intermediary to purchase wholesale energy on the global market . 4 contents 1 history 2 technology 3 customer relations 4 energy saving advice 5 references 6 external links history edit the company was launched in 2008 by co founders mark daeche darren braham and marcus citron as a spin out from first telecom . 5 1 in january 2012 the company appointed the former lastminute.com ceo ian mccaig as its new ceo . 6 in january 2014 the company signed a three year deal to become title sponsors of the super league . 7 in september 2014 the firm announced it was considering an initial public offering or outside investment to fund foreign expansion . 8 in september 2015 the company announced an expansion into germany to be branded as shell . 9 in september 2015 reuters reported that first utility had doubled customer numbers in three of the last four years adding 275 000 customers in the year of july 2015 . 10 technology edit being a small new entrant to the market allowed the company to experiment with new technology without the burden of having to migrate large numbers of customers from legacy systems . 11 the company was the first in the uk to offer smart meters to its residential customers . 12 13 this also gave the company experience of a large smart meter roll out programme . 14 the company has partnered with various other providers including opower and google powermeter to provide customers with access to usage data . 15 customer relations edit ofgem issued a disciplinary order against the company in december 2010 16 for failing to protect vulnerable customers 17 18 in april 2012 the new chief executive ian mccaig said of course rapid growth brings additional demands particularly on our customer service . as i mentioned above there are however a range of things we are doing to make sure our customer service is meeting your needs at all times . we have increased our customer facing staff by over a third in recent months and we are continuing to grow the team . ... introduced a new email management system which helps us group queries and provide faster response times . since implementation response times have improved by 50 % . we re going to be on top of this very soon and your email service will improve . i want to apologise if you have had delays in us responding to emails . ... i know that as a growing business we haven t delivered the best customer service at all times but i can see real improvements happening every day . with the initiatives listed above and the improvements we re making our aim is to deliver the best customer service the industry has to offer . ian mccaig covering letter on bills sent to first utility customers april 2012 energy saving advice edit in 2014 the company received criticism for the tone of its energy saving advice . when it was reported that shadow energy minister tom greatrex had said the advice was an insult to millions of people the company s reported response was that these tips are meant to provide some advice on how we might reduce our energy usage and absolutely not intended to trivialise the issue of fuel poverty something we take very seriously . 19 20 references edit a b first utility boss bills could double in the next 10 years the telegraph 19 october 2013 telegraph why fu . telegraph.co.uk . retrieved 25 september 2014 . fu rival big 6 . independent.co.uk . retrieved 25 september 2014 . first utility eyes lower bills with shell energy deal the telegraph 9 december 2013 fast track 100 first utility . fast track . retrieved 28 march 2012 . energy minnow seeks big name . london the independent . 13 february 2012 . retrieved 28 march 2012 . super league agrees new three year sponsorship deal bbc sport 21 january 2014 uk s first utility eyes ipo to fund expansion press release . reuters . 7 september 2014 . first utility launches in germany branded as shell . telegraph.co.uk . retrieved 2016 03 04 . uk s small energy suppliers gain market share from big six . reuters uk . retrieved 2016 03 04 . fu smart meter information . utilityweek.co.uk . retrieved 30 september 2014 . fu siemens to provide smart meters . uk.prweb.com . retrieved 30 september 2014 . fu smart meters available . energylinx.co.uk . retrieved 30 september 2014 . smart meter pitfalls . businessgreen.com . retrieved 30 september 2014 . fu metering data partnerships . greenwisebusiness.co.uk . retrieved 30 september 2014 . ofgem disciplinary order pdf . www.ofgem.gov.uk . retrieved 24 september 2014 . telegraph fu fails to protect vulnerable . www.telegraph.co.uk . retrieved 24 september 2014 . guardian fu not fit for purpose . www.theguardian.com . retrieved 24 september 2014 . fu independent energy advice insulting . independent.co.uk . retrieved 24 september 2014 . fu daily mail bizarre money saving . dailymail.co.uk . retrieved 24 september 2014 . external links edit official website first utility on twitter v t e united kingdom power companies big six suppliers british gas edf energy e.on uk npower sse scottish power distribution companies northern powergrid sp energy networks electricity north west western power distribution scottish and southern energy power distribution uk power networks transmission companies national grid scottish hydro electric transmission sp transmission sgn other suppliers the co operative energy ecotricity esb international extra energy first utility good energy opus energy ovo energy telecom plus total gas & power v t e energy in the united kingdom companies coal anglo american asia energy bhp billiton enrc glencore rio tinto uk coal oil and gas integrated bg group bp royal dutch shell exploration and production afren bhp billiton cairn energy centrica dana petroleum desire petroleum emerald energy enquest essar energy falkland oil and gas hardy oil and gas jkx oil & gas melrose resources ophir energy perenco premier oil regal petroleum rockhopper exploration soco international star energy tullow oil supply greenergy murco petroleum support abbot group amec ensco expro hunting petrofac qserv score group weir group westerngeco1 wood group utilities generation and supply integrated centrica edf energy1 e.on uk1 rwe npower1 scottish power1 sse generation drax group falck renewables horizon nuclear power1 international power vattenfall united kingdom1 vedanta resources supply the co operative energy ecotricity esb international extra energy firmus energy first utility good energy green energy loco2 energy opus energy ovo energy phoenix natural gas telecom plus distribution electricity electricity north west1 northern powergrid1 sp energy networks1 sse power distribution uk power networks1 western power distribution1 gas firmus energy national grid northern gas networks phoenix natural gas sgn wales & west utilities1 transmission electricity national grid2 scottish hydro electric transmission sp energy networks1 gas national grid other aggreko apx group aquamarine power ecogen enserve geothermal engineering hi gen power mark group wavegen companies with headquarters and or registered office in the uk but no applicable energy operations within the country shown in italics 1ultimate parent company is not uk based 2integrated in the united states no generation or supply activities in the uk energy sources coal coal authority coal fired power stations coal mines coal mining regions confederation of uk coal producers greenhouse gas emissions history miners strike national coal board open pit coal mining electricity association of electricity producers britned east west interconnector energy switching services economy 7 economy 10 electricity billing green electricity grid trade master agreement hvdc cross channel hvdc moyle hvdc norway uk isle of man to england interconnector national grid control reserve service new electricity trading arrangements power stations timeline of the electricity supply industry nuclear advanced gas cooled reactor franco british nuclear forum magnox national nuclear laboratory nuclear decommissioning authority nuclear liabilities fund nuclear power stations office for nuclear regulation sellafield united kingdom atomic energy authority oil and gas bbl pipeline dash for gas forties pipeline system fuel protests gas infrastructure greenhouse gas emissions hydrocarbon oil duty oil and gas authority national transmission system natural gas fields natural gas fired power stations north sea oil oil & gas uk oil fields oil fired power stations oil infrastructure oil refineries petroleum revenue tax renewables biofuels biodiesel biofuel power stations national non food crops centre renewable fuels agency renewable transport fuel obligation geothermal geothermal power stations hydroelectricity hydroelectric power stations severn barrage wave farms solar power wind power list of offshore wind farms list of onshore wind farms north sea offshore grid wind power in scotland government and regulation organisations carbon trust cenex committee on climate change department of energy and climate change department for environment food and rural affairs energy saving trust environment agency office of gas and electricity markets legislation and initiatives carbon emission reduction target climate change act 2008 climate change agreement climate change levy climate change and sustainable energy act 2006 crc energy efficiency scheme display energy certificate energy act 2013 energy performance certificate fossil fuel levy low carbon building programme national industrial symbiosis programme non fossil fuel obligation planning act 2008 renewable heat incentive renewables obligation united kingdom climate change programme non governmental organisations charities and pressure groups ashden award bioregional campaign against climate change centre for alternative technology national energy action stop climate chaos tyndall centre industry bodies combined heat and power association energy institute energy networks association energy retail association green power forum renewableuk utilities intermediaries association research centre for renewable energy systems technology energy technologies institute hadley centre for climate prediction and research narec oil depletion analysis centre uk energy research centre energy conservation association for the conservation of energy british energy efficiency federation close the door campaign code for sustainable homes double glazing & conservatory ombudsman scheme ecohomes energy efficiency in british housing energy saving trust energy saving trust recommended greenhouse gas emissions htb national home energy rating category commons retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title first utility & oldid 742436406 categories power companies of the united kingdomutilities of the united kingdomhidden categories wikipedia articles with possible conflicts of interest from july 2016twitter username different from wikidata navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main 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