Web broker Buyenergyonline is teaming up with Schlumberger and Reuters to expand into Europe.
Buyenergyonline is teaming up with Schlumberger and Reuters to allow it to expand its target market of commercial energy users from the UK to continental Europe. It aims to achieve a 5% share of the market by 2004. The firm operates a reverse auction process, matching suppliers with customers in the UK market. It has been relatively successful in the UK, with GBP25 million in contracts signed up with 24 suppliers. This compares with the US’ Utilyx.com, which has traded more than $29 million, representing 220 customer connections.
In Europe, the firm will have to compete with the likes of Buyenergyhere.com (which is merging with the Utilities Exchange), which already offers this service to UK and Nordic energy users. To provide a more competitive offering, Buyenergyonline is also looking to improve the range of services on its website. This will prove a vital move for all such online services in the near future, given the importance that content can have in generating regular site traffic in an increasingly congested and competitive marketplace. The more products it can license that encourage customers to use it as a portal, the better.
The firm’s move into Europe will help multinational customers to find a supplier for their energy for all their sites through a single source. This is an attractive option for companies with sites in a number of deregulating markets, with major savings to be made by signing up with the larger utilities, such as EdF and E.ON, which are targeting such customers across the region. As the industry deregulates and awareness of cost savings grows, the prospects for Buyenergyonline are good.
