Paul Keen, Director of Operations

“We’re very grateful to the SkyBill team for pulling out the all the stops to catapult our transfer at a phenomenal rate.”

 Our Client

Watkins Energy operates heat networks across the UK, serving residential and corporate customers. The company also provides metering and billing services for third parties, such as housing associations, managing agents, and other property managers. Watkins Energy chose SkyBill Utility Management, Billing and CIS to replace a legacy billing system that wasn’t keeping up with its needs. Migrating to SkyBill has helped the company align with the Heat Trust’s voluntary code of practice for customer service and billing, as well as prepare for the transition to a regulated heat networks market in 2026. Services: Heat networks energy services company; metering and billing services provider for housing associations, managing agents & other property managers Customers: Postpaid, prepaid, residential & corporate Location: UK Web site: Watkins Energy

Challenges

Legacy billing system impeded adoption of the Heat Trust’s standard for customer service and billing

Watkins Energy was keen to adopt the Heat Trust’s voluntary consumer protection standard for the UK’s heat networks service providers, but realised that the company’s objectives would be difficult to achieve with its legacy billing solution. The ‘one-size-fits-all’ legacy system couldn’t keep pace with Watkins Energy’s requirements and so was inhibiting the company’s progress towards complying with the Heat Trust’s code. As a result, Watkins Energy decided to procure a new billing system that would better support its objectives and help the company prepare for an Ofgem-regulated heat networks market from 2026.

Goals

Compliance with the Heat Trust’s code of practice for customer billing

The most essential requirement was to identify a new billing system that would allow Watkins Energy to become compliant with the Heat Trust’s best practices for billing customers on heat networks, ahead of the introduction of formal market regulation. The billing solution also needed to be adaptable to any changing requirements as the regulation of heat networks evolves.

Catering for different business models

As well as running its own heat networks and supplying customers directly, Watkins Energy also provides metering and billing for third parties such as housing associations who need to invoice their residents for heat network services. The new billing system had to be capable of managing both the company’s business models, as well as supporting online customer self-service for prepaid and postpaid customers.

Solution

Having assessed a range of options, Watkins Energy chose SkyBill Utility Management, Billing and CIS, a powerful meter-to-cash solution built on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. Being able to innovate and customise the solution was a key reason why Watkins Energy choose SkyBill. After swapping out the legacy solution, Watkins Energy progressively extended the SkyBill deployment to include additional features, in support of its high-level strategy of complying with the Heat Trust’s code of practice.

Big bang migration

Watkins Energy decided to migrate all its customers over to SkyBill in one go. The migration from the legacy solution was achieved very rapidly, allowing the new SkyBill system to start generating bills within just a few weeks.

Customised invoice templates

SkyBill created a range of different invoice templates, to cater for Watkins Energy’s varied customer mix. This capability in SkyBill means that invoices and letters can be tailored according to whether customers are billed by Watkins Energy directly, or via a housing association or managing agent. Having this ability to highly customise the invoice templates helps underpin Watkins Energy’s goal of providing clear customer bills.

Customer self-service portal

Once the new billing system was up and running, SkyBill implemented an online customer self-service portal, initially for Watkins Energy’s postpaid customers. This enables customers to view their bills and track their energy usage and bill payments, drawing on hourly meter readings and other data held in the SkyBill system.

Pay-as-you-go integration

Watkins Energy’s pay-as-you-go (PAYG) customers were then integrated into the SkyBill system. Data from the independent PAYG metering and payments systems were made available in SkyBill, enabling prepaid customers to view their energy usage, top-up payments, and account balance via the online customer portal. This means that they can check their balance status when they are out and about and unable to see the prepaid meter’s in-home display.

Annual statements

Finally, SkyBill added the capability to create annual statements for customers who have been billed for twelve monthly cycles or more. These summarise the customers’ usage and payments over the past year, and predict how much they would spend in the following year based on their current tariff. Watkins Energy implemented this feature to align with the Heat Trust’s requirements.

Outcomes

 Well placed for regulatory compliance

Watkins Energy is now the UK’s second-largest Heat Trust-compliant supplier, and has a growing number of sites that have passed the organisation’s stringent compliance audits. Moving to SkyBill has significantly contributed to this success. Watkins Energy is also well prepared for the new Ofgem-regulated market and is confident that with SkyBill it has found a partner who can move at the pace required for the evolving regulatory landscape.

Industry-leading invoice templates

Powered by SkyBill, Watkins Energy can create well-presented bills for any customer type and customise its letter templates to suit the specific requirements of the various customer groups and organisations the company serves. These capabilities are positioning Watkins Energy at the forefront of best-practice adoption for bill presentation.

Online self-service for all customers, both prepaid and postpaid

Thanks to the SkyBill PAYG integration, all Watkins Energy’s customers can access the web portal to view their usage, payments, and account balance. This fulfilled the company’s objective of being able to offer the same high quality of customer service to prepaid and postpaid users alike.

Financially scalable solution supporting continued business growth

SkyBill is a financially scalable solution that is well aligned with Watkins Energy’s rapid business growth.

About Watkins Energy

Watkins Energy is a heat network operator and heat supplier, responsible for the management, operation, and ongoing maintenance of the heat network connected to residential properties. In addition, Watkins Energy is responsible for accurate metering, billing, and customer communication related to heat consumption.

As a heat network operator, Watkins Energy is the sole heat supplier for the network. Unlike traditional gas or electricity markets, customers connected to a heat network cannot switch suppliers. This model and its implications are clearly communicated to residents prior to purchasing or renting their homes.

Heat network supply in the UK is currently not regulated by Ofgem in the same way as gas and electricity. In this environment, Watkins Energy places strong emphasis on transparency, reliability, and customer trust. To support this commitment, the company operates under a clearly defined Customer Services Charter, supported by Guaranteed Service Standards. These standards ensure that customers understand what level of service to expect and provide a clear framework for accountability.