Genesis Energy builds hub for connected home services

Energyhub, launched by Genesis, is an online marketplace to explore and learn about a diverse range of New Zealand-supported products to help users connect, manage and control their energy use.

The hub is currently on pilot and is the latest example of how Genesis is ‘co-creating’ with its customers to help them reimagine energy, saysJennifer Cherrington-Mowat, Genesis executive general manager digital and technology.

“Energyhub will help customers discover the convenience of a connected home,” says Cherrington-Mowat, in a statement.

“It’s a portal of New Zealand-supported smart technology from trusted and world-leading brands enabling you to connect, manage and control your energy.”

“Here you’ll find everything energy-related for use in and around your home, from solar packages to home energy monitors, electric vehicles, home security, lighting, kitchen whiteware and audio gear.

“Eventually you’ll even be able to buy light bulbs here – though they’ll be nothing like the old incandescent globes we’ve traditionally used to light up our homes,” says Cherrington-Mowat.

Jennifer Cherrington-Mowat

Cherrington-Mowat says Energyhub users can also talk about their experiences with these same products, sharing their insights, tips and stories.

“Genesis is changing, and we’re working hard to make sure our customers show us what this change needs to look like.”

We are looking forward to seeing how visitors to the hub interact with it, she says.

“We’ll be keeping an eye on what’s popular and what’s not and asking for feedback – all of this will help us determine future features for the hub.”

Other major initiatives launched by Genesis over the past two years also involve bringing customers together to share their energy experiences and insights.

“In the south Wairarapa, our Local Energy Project is a test-bed for new approaches to energy use, management and storage and has been running for one year.

“Around 20,000 customers are participating inEnergy IQ, designed to help customers plan and manage their energy use.

Genesis Energy has also been holding hackathons. The first onefocused on reimagining the customer experience through the use of mobile and/or digital technologies. The second hackathon focused on big data, ML and IOT; combining the skills of data scientists with energy generation engineers.

The winning team during the inaugural hackathon at Genesis Energy

Cherrington-Mowat says the insights delivered by these various initiatives will help Genesis offer all its customers new choices and possibilities when it comes to managing their energy.

Genesis is operating in the tech space by being agile and learning through testing and feedback with large numbers of people, or what she calls being in “a constant growth mode”.

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