Energy software and consulting firm Nexant has announced that Oxxio Nederland has licensed its HedgeDirect software system to automate the management, pricing, and execution of its retail power and gas supply contracts with residential, commercial, and industrial customers.

The speed and efficiency of the new system is expected to allow Oxxio to offer customers better pricing and flexible supply options. HedgeDirect is expected to provide a straight-through processing platform that will link Oxxio’s wholesale procurement and trading desk with the company’s retail supply operations.

Currently, Oxxio uses a manual system for structured retail price quotes and hedging. Because data must be entered manually into several different applications, the existing system is prone to errors. Additionally, between the time a price quote is accepted and then entered into both retail and wholesale applications, the wholesale price can change significantly.

With HedgeDirect, Oxxio will reportedly be able to automate this entire process, quickly creating the price quotes, eliminating redundant data entry, speeding up contract execution, and allowing Oxxio’s trading desk to hedge the contract before any volatile swings in wholesale price occurs.

Project design and implementation is expected to begin in February 2009, and the new system is scheduled to go live in June 2009.