Centrica is using Microsoft Power Platform as a core part of its digital transformation and low-code strategy.

Since starting in 2018, the company has:

• Grown to over 13,000 active Power Platform users
• Enabled more than 430 makers to build solutions
• Created over 1,100 apps, ranging from simple tools to mission-critical systems

These solutions support internal teams across finance, operations, HR, and more. For example, a finance-built tax timetable app now automates reminders for three different tax regimes, helping ensure returns are filed on time and reducing the risk of fines.

By combining low-code apps, automation, and AI agents, Centrica estimates it has achieved:

• ~£3.5M in savings from native platform capabilities (automation, integration, self-service)
• ~£7.6M in additional savings from Power Platform–led application development
• Over £10M in total estimated savings

This approach supports Centrica’s broader strategy to reimagine how work gets done while it pursues its net zero goals and continues to cut emissions (already reduced by over 70% in the last decade).

Centrica has built a structured governance model around Power Platform so it can scale low-code safely while keeping risk under control.

Key elements include:

• Center of Excellence (CoE): Built on the Power Platform Center of Excellence Starter Kit, the CoE oversees standards, support, and best practices.
• “Front Door” registration: As soon as a maker starts an app or flow, a custom app prompts them to register it. Makers provide details on business objectives, stakeholders, user counts, and potential financial, regulatory, or business risks.
• Automated risk scoring: The system calculates a risk score. Higher-risk or advanced projects trigger a review with the Power Platform leadership team (technical and business stakeholders) to validate the approach and check for existing reusable solutions.
• Managed Environments: Makers are moved from the default environment into managed personal productivity environments for better governance and compliance. Centrica uses:
• Environment Routing to automatically direct makers into the right environment
• Limit Sharing to control who can access apps
• Environment Groups to simplify policy management
• Pipelines to move solutions across dev-test-prod stages
• Quality tools and support: Makers get dev-test-prod environments, training, self-help resources, and access to the Power Apps Code Review Tool to improve app efficiency. They can also book time with the CoE team for hands-on help.

This framework lets Centrica grow a large maker community and still maintain clear guardrails, consistent policies, and a manageable support model.

Centrica is using Power Platform as a foundation to reimagine both custom development and AI experiences.

1. Power Apps code apps for advanced customization

• Developers are using Power Apps code apps to bring Power Apps capabilities into custom web apps built in a code-first IDE.
• A flagship example is the Flex First app, Centrica’s most-used Power App for booking desks and meeting rooms.
• Instead of replacing it with an off-the-shelf product, developers used code apps to:
• Fully customize the UI with Centrica branding
• Add over 200 new capabilities, including a 3D wayfinding feature to help employees navigate to their assigned workspace
• Because this runs within Managed Environments, the same governance and guardrails still apply.

2. Copilot Studio and AI agents

• Centrica started by enabling employees to build simple AI agents in Microsoft 365 Copilot using Agent Builder.
• One agent checks email content for policy compliance, saving employees hundreds of hours per year.
• For more advanced scenarios, makers use Copilot Studio within the same managed production environments as apps and flows, with policies controlling sharing and publishing.
• Examples include:
• RAG-based career development agents that use employee self-assessment data in Dataverse to answer questions like “How can I progress?” and “What skills do I need?” with tailored role, skills, and training guidance.
• A customized version of Microsoft’s Employee Self-Service (ESS) Agent in Microsoft 365 Copilot, orchestrating multiple specialized agents (e.g., ServiceNow’s Now Assist) for HR, IT, and other queries.
• Multi-agent orchestration is handled in Copilot Studio, so each connected system keeps its own business logic and rules. When those change, Centrica updates the platform agent rather than rebuilding a single monolithic ESS agent.

By combining Managed Environments, code apps, and Copilot Studio, Centrica is reshaping how it builds apps and AI solutions—keeping development close to the business while maintaining control, measurable outcomes, and in-house expertise.