Community FAQ’s at WePower: November 2018
By: Greta Jonaitytė
Tags: Energy, Blockchain, Renewables, Renewable Energy

The year may be drawing to a close but the WePower team is feeling more motivated than ever! We’ve just had a very successful live AMA session on Telegram where our community raised lots of questions and shared their interest in the WePower story. We are thrilled to have so many people supporting our journey.

Thank you, dear community!

For those of you who missed it, or wanted to revise the answers to all of the questions, we have put together our first Community FAQ’s at WePower blog…happy reading!

Questions from Live AMA on Telegram on Monday 19 November:

With the new business model applied how has the token use case changed, if it did change at all?

The use case of WPR did not change, it provides 2 features at this stage which is access to priority auctions and what is the most important — access to donation pool.

What happened with Arturas moving to a more passive role? Everybody is scared that there’s something bad happening in the team…could you explain?

Good question, nothing bad has happened. With around 60 contributors to WePower today, internal organisations need to change to be able to grow. It is very common that organisations outgrow positions and people and Arturas has moved to a different role. He is a co-founder of WePower and part of WePower but in a less active role.

How will private people have the access to the auctions if its an B2B model?

The goal has not changed and the platform will be open for all the participants (individuals will be able to participate), from the business perspective and to provide most benefits possible we refocused where most of the traction is today and where the results can be achieved this year with highest benefits to the community.

Hi Nick, you wrote that the use case did not change at this stage it provides 2 features. Should we be expecting any changes regarding these 2 features in the future?

The features will be expanded with additional functionalities coming to the platform, those are focused on all of the customers as in the energy world we are transitioning from a old utility driven sector to a buyer driven sector.

Will businesses that will have priority access to the platform B2B be required to hold WPR tokens as well?

Absolutely! If you do not have WPR you are unable to enter in to the priority stage of the auction.

Have many business who intend to purchase electricity (ie users) signed up?

We are currently working with some of the top 100 energy consumers in Australia who are very keen to purchase energy through us and see the value we provide.

Is it correct that priority access is for big companies first and later in some years also for private people? Any specific market rules applies?

Actually the limitations for purchasing energy for your home as a small consumer are still the same as in the whitepaper — you need to be grid connected, there needs to be a way to deliver that energy to you. So if we are starting in Australia, then grid connected small users will be able to participate very soon — for other markets — at scaling speed. Also, KYC and credit scoring requirements will apply, like with any financial purchase.

Will businesses (B2B option) in regards to WPR token be subjected to exact same rules as individual investors? When you say “If you do not have WPR you are unable to enter in to priority stage of the auction” it does not exactly refer to corporates that will be engaging in the B2B (as opposed to individual investors)?

You are absolutely right, all rules are the same.

Is the contribution to the donation pool still at 0.9%?

Yes, donations are 0.9%, however the size of the auction has increased as not 20% but 100% are being sold right now through the platform. Initial model was based on the fact that we were able to technically sell only 20% of the energy through the platform. With the work the team has done we were able to move to selling 100% of energy from any renewable power plant that is ready to be built. 0.9% donation from the amount of energy the renewable power plant is selling through WePower.

Is my thinking right: if projections in white paper was prepared for only Spain and Italy, so with Australia can we reach our goals faster?

You are right, initial projections do not represent Australia.

Have many businesses who intend to purchase electricity (ie users) signed up?

Around 10 companies will be able to participate in the first WePower auction. We are oversubscribed by a dozen. And when we think about large companies, then we need to understand that the volumes and patterns of energy consumption are different and at scales which are difficult to imagine for normal people.

Is it possible to update the projections?

When the quiet season hits, we will look at updating it, for now the focus is on business development.

You started hiring in Germany and other EU countries. Can we expect WePower as an energy deliverer in EU in 2019?

Yes we have plans for Europe in 2019. But availability as an energy deliverer in a specific region will depend on a few things, for example having a smart meter installed.

Are you partnered with AGL and Origin?

We have partnerships in place that were announced during this year which have provided a lot of support and value to us but we are happy to engage with all possible market players.

What happened with plans on launching business in Spain?

During Summer time when Spain went on vacation there was a choice for us in either do nothing until Spain comes back from holidays or focus on Australia as a priority as it was winter time here. We refocused on launching the Australian market first and we are happy about it as it allowed us to expand the business case as well. A lot of work has been done in Spain and we are working in the background to launch Spain ASAP.

How will the Buyer companies get access WPR? I presume that there is an arrangement with them ? They will not come exchanges to buy the coin like most of us.

Buying of tokens will be done through exchanges.

In essence, is the main change in the business model who actually can purchase the electricity (businesses instead of retail/individual)?

The business model has not essentially changed, its only a change in the market entry strategy. Pieces of the puzzle are the same, they are just put together in a slightly different order. Companies have large volumes, and they are a good place to start simplifying the power purchasing process. The buy-process for companies and individuals is a bit different, but both will be developed.

When will you guys update officially the projections and the white paper with this amazing new information?

We are changing format, and will keep it in a form of business focus around the market and potential of the market we are in.

When do you think you will be in a position to share the timeline for the first auction?

We are working to make it happen as soon as possible, and we will happily share this news as soon as possible.

How was it on Utility Week in Vienna? Was it instructive?

EUW in Vienna was intense. WePower co-founder Kaspar has been going there every year for 5 years giving talks as a former energy grid executive. However this year, with WePower, both Nick and Kaspar had the the opportunity to share their bold vision for the energy transition and that was really exciting to see it resonate. We will be talking more about that vision as we move forward.

May I ask about Peter Diamandis? Why is he giving so little about WePower? Is he still with the team?

Peter is advising us on the long-term aspects of WePower’s vision for energy digitalization — in scaling exponentially beyond our first target markets — this is his specialty. As we move forward, this will be more visible.