World‘s Best Energy Brands Selected as Finalists for the Annual CHARGE Awards
Reykjavik – 17 August – With rapid changes in the energy sector, the energy brands that thrive in the future will be the ones that can quickly and effectively adapt, and that convey their approach through exceptional branding. The annual CHARGE Energy Branding conference, to be held September 24-25 2018, in Iceland, has announced the finalists for this year‘s CHARGE Awards. The five categories are Established, Challenger, Green, Transmission, and Product & Innovation.
The initial shortlist of over 80 companies was created by a global panel of experts that work in or around the energy space as well as professionals in branding and advertising and from academia. The finalists in the three retail categories (Established, Challenger and Green) are evaluated both by customer research as well as how the panel scores their case study submissions. The categories of Product & Innovation and Transmission are evaluated by their submissions to the panel.
The winners will be announced at the CHARGE Awards ceremonial dinner on the 24th of September in Reykjavik, Iceland as part of the CHARGE Energy Branding Conference. The finalists will be honored on stage at the conference on the 24th and the winners will participate in a panel discussion during the conference‘s second day.
The finalists for the 2018 CHARGE Awards are:
Established: Alperia Energy, Innogy, Enmax, E.on, Helen
Challenger: Illumia, Powershop, Igloo Energy, easyEnergy, WATT + VOLT
Green: Burlington Electric, CleanChoice Energy, Bulb, Ekwateur
Transmission: Eirgrid, Fingrid, Enbridge
Product & Innovation: Tiko, Virta, THE FCTR E
“The energy industry is at the crossroads of change, not only from technological and regulatory perspective but the future of energy will be determined by the best brands. We have a great variety of brands as finalists this year. It is interesting to see that energy companies are taking their branding more and more seriously and have become more consumer-centric. It will be interesting to see who will end up as winners.” – Dr. Fridrik Larsen, Chairman of CHARGE Energy Branding.
About the finalists
(from their case-study submissions):
Alperia is the largest provider of energy services in South Tyrol, a province in the north of Italy, and it is one of the leading Italian companies in the field of energy production from renewable sources. Alperia’s core business involves the production of electric energy, the management of the electricity grid in South Tyrol, district heating and the sale of electric energy and natural gas.
E.ON has responded to fundamental energy market changes with a clear and compelling purpose to “improve people’s lives”, as reflected in their strategy. E.ON is shifting to a portfolio without any conventional energy products by focusing on their customers, renewables, energy efficiency, local energy systems and digital solutions.
ENMAX Corporation operates in one of only two deregulated electricity markets in North America, and the only one in the Canada. Since deregulation 20 years ago, the ENMAX brand has established itself as a successful, diversified company, and stands alone in its ability to operate in all three areas of the industry; specifically generating, distributing and selling energy to 662,000 Alberta homes and businesses.
Helen Ltd is one of the largest energy companies in Finland. The company has over 400,000 customers throughout the country. Helen produces district heat covering over 90% of Helsinki’s heating needs and is expanding energy efficient district cooling in Helsinki. Helen is constantly developing new services, such as solar solutions, demand response, and services for electric traffic.
With innogy, the challenge was to create a brand that would be truly capable of taking the company into the future: confident of where it stands yet generous and open, leaving room to create. Bold enough to break with common conventions, yet purposeful and specific.
easyEnergy provides Dutch customers access to wholesale energy prices, for a fixed monthly fee of € 5 for green power and/ or € 5 for gas. The company charges only the real-time cost of energy to end users who have a smart meter installed. No further margins are applied.
Igloo Energy’s proposition is simple: use less, pay less. People using less energy is good for both their wallets and the environment. Igloo Energy exists to help consumers make smart, hassle-free energy decisions every day so that they use less energy and save money.
Illumia is a young, dynamic and innovative company, operating in the energy private sector since 2006. We don’t’ just sell energy and gas, but much more. “We want to turn ourselves, from simple suppliers of electric energy and gas, into a community with a strong identity, in which our clients’ energy can find a stimulation, a corresponding emotional experience”.
Powershop is the world’s first online electricity retailer. Power to the People has been the Brand Essence of Powershop from day one. We live and breathe ‘Power to the People.’ This drives every part of their product and service and how people work at the company.
Bulb was started to lead change in the energy industry. The company exists to make energy simpler, cheaper and greener for all. These three values run through our company like the words in a stick of rock. Bulb makes energy simpler to make your life easier. You can switch to Bulb in 2 minutes. The company has one, simple tariff for all and you can speak to a human when you have a question.
ekWateur is France’s first alternative energy supplier. Leading the way in the future of energy, we supply 100% renewable electricity, gas and wood to homes and small businesses in France. ekWateur‘s energy is cheaper than traditional operators in France. Their energy is carefully chosen and customers can select which producer receives their money.
CleanChoice Energy supplies only 100% clean renewable energy from wind and solar farms. Unlike other energy companies, the compnay does not offer any blended products, and we does not contribute to any fossil fuel or nuclear energy production. CleanChoice makes it easy to have the most positive impact customers can have by buying our clean energy from newer, regional wind and solar facilities.
Burlington Electric Department (BED) is a department of City government and an essential part of Burlington’s infrastructure. BED is Vermont’s largest municipally owned electric utility serving more than 20,000 customers. Burlington Electric Department has served the city of Burlington for 113 years.
EirGrid Group develops, manages and operates the electricity transmission grid in Ireland and Northern Ireland. This makes them responsible for a safe, secure and reliable supply of electricity now and in the future. EirGrid uses the grid to supply power to industry and businesses that use large amounts of electricity.
Enbridge, North America’s largest energy transportation company, was thought of as just an energy delivery service. The brand was lumped in with what people were reading, seeing and hearing about the rest of the energy sector. There was very little understanding of the positive effects that energy and Enbridge actually had on people’s lives, the economy, environment and society.
Fingrid makes sure that Finns have a secure supply of electricity – now and well into the future. Fingrid is Finland’s transmission system operator, and their job is to ensure reliable electricity for their customers and their society. At the same time, the company is shaping the clean and market-oriented electricity system of the future.
WATT + VOLT is a rapidly growing and highly innovative Greek company providing electricity, natural gas and integrated services to a wide range of customers in Greece. Their strategic mission is to expand their reach and establish themselves as the leading provider of integrated energy solutions on Southern Europe and the Balkans. Their primary aim is to address their customer needs with dedication, efficiency and flexibility through harvesting the skills of their highly experienced personnel and through systematic investments in research and development of new products and services.
Virta lives at the junction of two clean disruptions reinforcing each other. On one side, the company supports the rise of electric vehicles (EV) by providing charging solutions. On the other side, they utilize the same vehicles to provide ancillary services for intermittent renewable energy.
tiko is the brand under which tiko Energy Solutions AG, a start-up of 35 employees based in Switzerland, operates. The company was created in 2012 from the realization that for nations to increase the share of renewables in their energy supply, the grids needed solutions to compensate the fluctuations they would induce in order to guarantee their stability.
THE FCTR E [pronounced “The Factory”] helps consumers take control of their energy system at home. By becoming a member of THE FCTR E they create an all-electric and self-generating e-home; a home that is all set for a fossil free future. THE FCTR E provides, finances, installs, manages, monitors and maintains all of the clean tech equipment that is needed
About the Charge Energy Branding Conference
The annual CHARGE Energy Branding Conference is the world’s first knowledge and networking platform on energy branding. As an international event strategically located between North America and Europe, CHARGE aims at leading the global conversation on communications in the energy and utilities sectors while drawing attention to issues of sustainability, innovation, and the consumer-centric experience. The conference is a hub for decision-making, networking and researching about energy branding as an emerging field.
The CHARGE Energy Branding Conference will take place at the Harpa Culture and Conference Center in Reykjavik, Iceland and is open to the public with pre-arranged and on-site purchased tickets. Tickets are available at https://icelandtravel.artegis.com/event/CHARGE_Energy_Branding
Media accreditation is granted according to the profession represented (photography, filmography, journalism writing, etc), the periodicity of the media outlet, its size (audience and circulation), as well as its potential engagement with the fields of energy and branding. We are happy to help coordinate interviews with any of the speakers or award finalists.
