In October 2006, Direct Energy named Phillip W. Tonge President of U.S. Operations, responsible for leading the company’s retail activities in the 13 states in which it operates. Directions spoke with Tonge, who joined Direct Energy in 2004 as Senior Vice President of the company’s Texas operations and president of CPL Retail Energy and WTU Retail Energy, about where he sees the company headed and what he brings to his new job.

Directions: Have you defined any overall goals for the company?

Phillip Tonge: We need to be as responsive and innovative as we can in delivering products and services to our customers and providing them with an unparalleled customer experience. I want Direct Energy to be thought of by our customers as a partner that’s interested in more than just providing a commodity. We want to be known as a company that works with our customers to help them increase their energy efficiency and thereby reduce their overall energy consumption and spend. Finally, I want to continue to grow our U.S. business, both from a customer and a financial performance standpoint.

In the future, I foresee Direct Energy being a large, geographically diverse provider of energy and related services to customers, while not losing any of the ability to be nimble in the face of changing markets that got us to where we are.

Directions: What are the key challenges to growth?

PT: For Direct Energy to grow, competition needs to continue to flourish. We need to have the right regulatory environment that promotes competition and investment. We also need to continue to make our customers understand that we’re different—from our approach to the marketplace to the breadth of our portfolio and our financial strength. The volatility of energy markets, energy pricing and energy regulation present a challenge to consumer confidence in competitive markets, and is therefore a challenge to our future growth.

Directions: In your view, where does the company excel versus its competition?

PT: First and foremost, Direct Energy has a team of sales leaders that listen to and understand our customers’ energy requirements. In addition, we have an experienced energy management group and leadership team with a solid history of making prudent procurement decisions for the benefit of customers and the company, enabling us to effectively manage risk for our customers. As part of the Centrica group of companies, Direct Energy has the necessary credit and financial resources to invest in the areas where we operate; we own both natural gas assets and electricity generation plants.

The biggest differentiator is Direct Energy’s focus on energy and related services. We’re more than just a commodity. We have and are continuing to build expertise in demand-side energy management and helping customers reduce their energy consumption.  

Directions: Do you see any areas in which Direct Energy needs to improve to compete?

PT: There’s always room for improvement, and that’s true of any company. We’re proud of the successful foundation we’ve built, and the challenge is to continue to build on it. We are continually looking to make ourselves easier to do business with by improving our channels, such as creating rich online tools. We’re always looking at opportunities to pass along savings to our customers.

Directions: What support can business customers expect from Direct Energy going forward?

PT: Business customers are critical to our growth plan. In my new role, I’m actively looking at ways to streamline the business. For example, as a company with offices in multiple locations, we ought to have one sales leader who brings a cohesive perspective across the board, and one contract that can span all of those locations.

We’re also very sensitive to the fact that energy represents a major portion of our business customers’ overall operating expenses. We want to see our energy efficiency solutions, technology and expertise deployed in tandem with our commodity offerings in more markets.

Directions: What strengths do you bring to Direct Energy’s table?

PT: One of my strengths is building strong teams with an emphasis on teamwork.
I have the pleasure of working with a great group of people across our entire organization that are very attuned to the need to balance doing what’s right for the customer with doing what’s right for the business. It’s a balance we’ve kept in mind during our decision-making process. I would also say that my ability to be innovative and my track record in that regard have served me well in my career, and I actively encourage innovation within the organization. My least-favorite expression is, “We’ve always done it that way.”