Chandler's Ford: Utilita Energy appoints head of legal

Eastleigh-based Utilita Energy has appointed a new head of legal in a move to provide proactive and in-depth legal advice to support the firm’s continuous growth and ensure it continues to uphold the highest of legal standards for all customers, clients and employees.

James Salmon, who previously worked as a solicitor and as in-house legal counsel at Serocor Solutions, joined Utilita to support contracts, work with the regulatory team and ensure customers get the fairest deal on their energy. His experience in managing sensitive cases, ensuring compliance with robust commercial contracts and providing expert advice on risk mitigation and prevention will complement his role at the energy provider.

Utilita, which has almost 800,000 customers across the UK, is one of the UK’s largest independent energy suppliers and has been at the forefront of the UK’s smart meter rollout for more than a decade, allowing customers to monitor their energy usage and make efficiency savings.

Salmon said: “Utilita has developed significantly over the past few years and now is a great time for me to join the business as it moves into its next phase of growth. Delivering first rate legal advice, accurate analysis of business strategies and identifying potential risks across the company is a vital part of my role to support Utilita’s vision of providing households a fairer deal on their energy supply.”

Utilita Energy’s CEO, Bill Bullen, added: “We created the new Head of Legal position to support Utilita’s long-term vision as the company continues to go from strength to strength. James will perform a vital role in the negotiation of contracts with our many partners and ensure our customers continue to receive the best possible deal. James’ legal expertise, ambition and strategic understanding – combined with the significant talent of the Utilita team – will help drive the business to new heights.”

Headquartered in Chandler’s Ford, Hampshire, Utilita was the first supplier to challenge the Big Six in the smart pay-as-you-go domestic energy market and currently has nearly 800,000 customers.