Meet our CEO: An interview with Simon Reilly

In August this year, a $200 million investment from I Squared, the leading independent global infrastructure investment manager, saw Aurora Utilities Limited (Aurora) launch in the UK. 

A new IDNO (Independent Distribution Network Operator) with a license to help developments in Great Britain connect to the grid quicker and safer than ever before, Aurora is committed to supporting the UK’s net zero ambitions.

Leading the business is Simon Reilly, company founder and CEO. Here, he shares his thoughts on his vision for Aurora, its focus in 2024 and beyond, and an industry outlook.

Q: Hi Simon! Can you tell us about your career before starting Aurora? 

A: Sure, prior to 2013 I held a director-level position within a global professional services firm, advising on the financing and delivery of major  transport and infrastructure projects. I qualified as a chartered accountant and spent 15 years working there, the highlight being a four year stint living in Australia. 

In 2013 I took the leap from professional services into industry and I’ve spent the last decade working for private equity owned infrastructure businesses. My last role was at SGN, one of the UK’s biggest gas distribution networks. I joined in 2017 as Commercial Director and was responsible for running and developing SGN’s non-regulated business. 

A year later I created a property development business called SGN Place, which redeveloped old gas holder sites into residential and commercial projects. The business was set up in 2018 to develop more than 3,000 new homes across the South East of England over a 10 year period.

During my time at SGN Place, I acquired first-hand experience of taking derelict waste land, and turning it into modern real estate boasting eco-designs and energy efficiency. I witnessed the powerful impact of using the land as a clean slate to get the property designs right from the beginning, moving away from retrofitting legacy builds. This ensured sustainability and reliable connections to the grid were prioritised. 

This attracted me to the “last-mile” sector as I saw an opportunity to retain an interest in these SGN Place developments by owning the utility assets after we’d sold them on, generating a long-term regulated revenue stream.  I therefore began looking at how I could enter this sector and that’s when I met J Murphy & Son who had just obtained an Independent Gas Transporters (IGT) and IDNO licence from Ofgem. I convinced them that SGN would be a good partner of this new venture and MUA was born. I sat on the board of MUA representing SGN’s investment for four years, and latterly became the Chair of the board.  

In 2022, I moved into a role at SGN that was focused on developing and investing in energy sources of the future. This position allowed me to focus on how the UK can decarbonise its entire energy system to meet net zero targets.

Q: And, what led you to where you are today?

It was an appetite to become directly involved in new investments in green projects that drew me to the energy sector, as well as a passion for supporting the testing of new systems and technologies that will support net zero. 

Considering the current race to electrify our transport, the move to adopt heat pumps and other low-carbon heating systems in our homes and workspaces, as well as how AI is boosting the use of data centres at a rapid rate, there is no shortage of demand for new innovations and technical expertise that will allow the UK to connect more developments to the grid.

The energy sector itself is a fascinating space to be in right now as Europe’s ecosystem is going through a period of immense transformation. This is being driven by the critical need to tackle climate change, geo-political uncertainty leading to energy security concerns, and aspirations to invest in renewables to support long-term growth. 

Through my new role as CEO of Aurora, I am leading a team who are directly influencing that transformation, and that is a very exciting place to be.

Q:  What made you launch Aurora and what makes the company different?

Working for an IDNO in the past, my eyes were opened to the vast opportunities there are to make new commercial and residential builds today more environmentally friendly, economic, resilient and safe for future generations, than historic builds. However, this will only be achievable if sustainability is put at the heart of the developer’s plans, and IDNOs are a critical enabler of this. 

Along with my co-founder Jamie McAinsh, and the team at I Squared, we wanted to create a new generation IDNO that embraces digital processes, and champions decarbonisation and energy efficiency through smart, ethical decisions; and so, Aurora was born!

Backed by I Squared, which places a significant importance on investing in sustainable businesses, Aurora benefits from advice from a highly experienced team who have helped to build some of the most successful infrastructure-related companies in the world, we are well-positioned for growth. 

In addition to this, Aurora is different in that we hold an electricity distribution licence from Ofgem to connect developments to the grid across the UK, but we don’t hold a gas license. Applying for a gas license would contradict our values which centre around building a business that advocates and enables clean energy systems and connections to support the energy transition. 

As part of our obligations as a business backed by a sustainable investor like I Squared, we are subject to the criteria of the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) Article 9 funds and impact funds. This means we regularly review our environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices, and they are under scrutiny to ensure compliance with the latest standards.

To the benefit of our customers, we also pride ourselves on offering market-leading asset value payments. This is where we generate revenue from the Distribution Use of System (DUoS) charges, which are paid by the consumer through the energy supplier, and we use some of this projected future revenue to offer a payment to developers to help subsidise the cost of building the new network and asset. For many developers this payment can transform their project, helping them to build to plan faster.

Above all else, I believe that what makes Aurora truly stand out is an unwavering commitment to putting our customers first. That could be achieved through ensuring our customers don’t have to fill out endless paper forms and instead having 24/7 access to a digital portal to receive a quote for their project, or it could be that they are able to use WhatsApp to ask technical questions to one of our team who gets back to them promptly, meaning minimal disruption to their operations.

Members of our team have decades of energy sector experience, they have worked for developers, ICPs, DNOs and IDNOs in the past, and so they understand the challenges that developers encounter getting a project connected to the grid. They’ll come along on the journey with them to make it a success. They ensure our service is; Fast, flexible, straightforward, every time.