What made you make the move to Centrica Energy?

I wanted to apply my background in AI and energy engineering in a real-life setting, while trying to have an impact on the energy transition. Besides that, I wanted to be surrounded by experienced people to learn from and develop myself.


What does the Head of Trading Analytics do?

I’m heading the Trading Analytics team within Short-Term Asset Trading. We mostly trade renewables and batteries across Europe and the UK. My team and I collaborate closely with our trading teams to discuss their trading strategies. We provide them with the trading tools, insights, and models to find the right balance between fully automated algo trading and human expert trading.

 

In addition to the traders, we work with the software and algo developers and the forecasting team to align our insights from the markets, our assets, and weather patterns and develop trading strategies and quantitative models to maximize the value generated for our renewable energy assets.

We continuously assess that the implemented strategies have the desired effect by analysing the performance of our portfolios and seeing how they react to certain market events. Based on this monitoring we adapt and change strategies to stay ahead of the market.

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What’s your favourite thing about being an Energy Mover at Centrica Energy?

That we work to integrate more renewables into our portfolio every day. This includes planning how we go to market and how we can maximize the penetration of renewable assets in the electricity grid.

Besides that, it is nice to be close to the action and see our trading strategies being executed in real life every day. Having spent some time in a research environment it is exciting to see our technologies being rolled at scale in the real world.


Can you tell us about an achievement you’re proud of?

I’m proud of the setup that we have developed to trade batteries across Europe. We managed to be the first to enter multiple crucial markets with a battery. It has been challenging to adapt continuously to changing market conditions. Over the years, we learned a lot by being at the forefront of these developments, and our trading setup has evolved accordingly. It has required a lot of hard work, but it’s amazing to see it in action every day.

 

What’s your best advice for someone wanting to make the move and join the energy industry?

The energy sector is a complex and rapidly changing sector of crucial societal importance, in which you can make a relevant impact on the energy transition. If these things excite you, I can only recommend you make the jump. There is a need for people with a variety of backgrounds and there are plenty of challenges to be tackled.

 

Since the sector is changing so quickly, don’t shy away from taking initiative and dare to think outside the box. Strive for excellence by exploring state-of-the-art solutions but don’t lose focus on the end goal and value the elegance of a pragmatic solution when possible.

 

What should someone dreaming of becoming an Energy Mover know about Centrica Energy?

We love brainstorming and exploring new ideas. It’s amazing to see how eager different teams are to work together and learn from each other. Despite being a large company, we share the same values and purpose.

I’m proud of the setup that we have developed to trade batteries across Europe. We managed to be the first to enter multiple crucial markets with a battery.

Oscar De Somer
Head of Trading Analytics

Meet our Energy Movers