Cookie Policy

A clear concise guide to cookies

We explain the basics of what cookies are and what they do and talk about the different types of cookies you will find. 
We also cover why cookies can be helpful to you and explain that you have the option to control which cookies your browser accepts.

What are cookies?

A cookie is a piece of text that is stored on your computer or mobile device by your web browser. 

What are cookies used for?

We use cookies to monitor how people use our website.  They help us understand how our customers and potential customers use our websites, so we can develop and improve their design, layout and provide more relevant content. Cookies can also help in letting you navigate between pages more efficiently, by remembering your preferences and generally improving your browsing experience.  In addition, they can also help ensure the marketing you see online is more relevant to you and your interests. 

How they work

When you visit a website that uses cookies, cookies will be downloaded onto your computer or mobile device.  Your web browser makes these cookies available to the website every time you visit, so it can recognise you and then tailor what you see on your device.  Cookies may come from the website itself, advertising banners or other graphics that make up a webpage. 

How long will cookies stay on my browsing device?

The length of time a cookie will stay on your browsing device depends on whether it is a ‘persistent’ or ‘session’ cookie.  Session cookies will only stay on your device until you stop browsing.  Persistent cookies stay on your browsing device after you have finished browsing until they expire or are deleted.  

First and third-party cookies

‘First party cookies’ are cookies (that belong to us) that we place on your browsing device.  ‘Third-party cookies’ are cookies that our partners place on your browsing device when you visit our website. Third parties setting cookies from our website will be providing a service to us or constitute a function of the website.  We do not always have control of how third party cookies are used.  You should check the third party’s website for more information on how they use cookies.  

How we use cookies

The cookies used on our websites are classified based on the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) guide for cookie categories.  There are four broad groups of cookies.

1. Cookies which are essential, so you can move around and use our websites – Strictly necessary.

2. Cookies which collect information about how you use our websites – Performance.

3. Cookies which remember choices you make and allow us to provide enhanced features – Functional.

4. Cookies which are placed by third party advertising networks and agencies that collect information about your browsing habits – Targeting.
   We are not making use of such Cookies.

To find out more about these types of cookies see Our Cookie Policy.

The benefits of cookies

By using cookies, a site ‘knows’ that you have been there before, and in some cases, tailors web content to take account of this based on what you have looked at or done previously.  For instance, it can be helpful to vary content according to whether this is your first ever visit to a site – or if you are a regular website visitor. Some cookies are more sophisticated.  They might record how long you spend on each page on a site, what links you click, even your preferences for page layouts and colour schemes.  They can also be used to store data on what is in your ‘shopping cart’, adding items as you click. 

Concerns about cookies

There is nothing secret about the information gathered by cookies, but you may be concerned about what your web behaviour is being used for.  For transparency we provide a list of our third party tracking cookies with information about how to opt out of them if you wish in Our Cookies section. 

Control your cookies

Almost all web browsers allow you the option to block cookies.  That means you can block all cookies or you can choose which ones to accept.  This can however make browsing difficult – some sites do not work or work less well with cookies turned off.  For instructions on how to manage your cookie privacy setting in your browser see our section on Cookie browser options. 

Our Cookie Policy

An overview of the different types of cookies we use on our websites

You should be aware that when you use our websites, mobile sites, or mobile apps, we may collect information by using ‘cookies’.  Please note when you create or login to an online account you agree to our use of cookies as described in this cookie policy section. We and our third party partners may set a range of cookies when you visit our website.  The types of cookies used on our site can generally be put into one of the following categories: strictly necessary, performance, functionality and targeting.  These categories are explained in more detail below.  For a list of the cookies we use on our websites please see Our Cookies section. 

Essential for making our site work properly (Strictly Necessary)

These cookies are essential to make our site work.  They let you move around the website and use its essential features.  Without these cookies, services that are necessary for you to be able to use our site such as accessing secure areas cannot be provided.  These cookies don't gather any information about you that could be used for marketing or remembering where you've been on the internet. We use these Strictly Necessary cookies to:

• Identify you as being logged in to our website.

• Make sure you connect to the right service on our website when we make any changes to the way the website works.

Cookies we have defined as ‘Strictly Necessary’ cookies will not be used to:

• Gather information that could be used to advertise products or services to you.

• Remember your personal preferences beyond your current visit.

Accepting these cookies is a condition of using the website, so if you prevent these cookies we can’t guarantee your security or predict how our website will perform during your visit. 

Collect information about how you use our website (Performance)

‘Performance’ cookies collect information about how you use our website, e.g. which pages you visit, how often and if you experience any errors.  These cookies don’t collect any information that could identify you – all the information collected is only used to help us improve how our website works, understand what interests our users and measure how effective our advertising is. We use Performance cookies to:

• Provide statistics on how our website is used.

• Help us improve the website by measuring any errors that occur.

• Test different designs of our website.

Using our site indicates that you accept the use of ‘Performance’ cookies.  Accepting these cookies is a condition of using the website, so if you prevent them we cannot guarantee how our site will perform for you. 

Used to provide services or to remember settings to improve your visit (Functionality)

‘Functionality’ cookies are used to provide services or to remember settings to improve your visit.  We use functionality cookies to:

• Remember settings and personal preferences you’ve applied such as layout, text size, preferences and colours.

Cookies defined as ‘Functionality’ will not be used to target you with adverts on other websites.

Preventing these cookies may mean we can’t offer you some services, and will reduce the support we can offer you.  It’s also possible that preventing these cookie stops us remembering that you didn’t want a specific service. 

Are linked to services provided by third parties (Targeting)

We are not making any use of ‘Targeting’ cookies
‘Targeting’ cookies are linked to services provided by third parties, [such as social media ‘Like’ and ‘Share’ buttons].  The third party provides these services in return for recognizing that you have visited our website.  

Disabling cookies

If you do not want us to use cookies in your browser, you can remove cookies from your computer’s hard drive, or set your browser to block cookies or to send a warning notice before a cookie is stored on your computer.  However, please note that you may not be able to use many of the services on our website or other websites without cookies.  For more information see our Cookie browser options. The advertising industry in the EU has also developed a scheme to help you opt-out of receiving cookies used for advertising purposes.  You can find out more about the EU scheme from www.youronlinechoices.eu. 

Any questions?

If you have any questions about our use of cookies, please feel free to contact us at privacy@centrica.com 

A list of the types of cookies we use on our website. 
Here is a list of cookies we use most frequently use on our website with an explanation of what they do including a link to opt out from being tracked by certain cookies (where this is an available function). 

Strictly Necessary

These cookies are essential for you to move around and use the features of our websites. 

powerradar.energy and panpwrws.com

On our website we use cookies to check you have logged into your account and to enable you to get into the web-app without the need to re-enter your credentials on every visit.

Opt out details
If you wish to opt out of these cookies you will need to change your browser settings.  Cookie browser options.

Performance

These cookies collect information about how you use our websites. 

Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a service offered by Google that generates detailed statistics about the visitors to a website.  Their cookies are used to store details how long a visitor spends on a website and where they came from. 

Opt out details
The Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on is available for Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari and Opera.  Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on 

FullStory Session Recordings (FullStory Ltd.)

FullStory is a solution for recording and then replaying what visitors are doing on each page of a website.  We use it to improve the usability of our website.

Opt out details
FullStory honors generic "Do Not Track” headers. This means the browser can tell its script not to collect any of the User's data. This is a setting that is available in all major browsers.
Find FullStory privacy policy https://www.fullstory.com/legal/privacy/
Opt out - https://www.fullstory.com/optout 
In addition, If you wish to opt out of these cookies you can change your browser settings. Cookie browser options.

Intercom Customer Messaging Platform (Intercom, Inc.)

Intercom is a solution for product announcement ,engagement and customer support service. We use it to improve the usability and our customer service.

Opt out details
Find Intercom's privacy policy https://www.intercom.com/terms-and-policies#terms
If you wish to opt-out or block these cookies, please contact directly support intercom and they will remove you from this service https://www.intercom.com/help/.

Coralogix log analytics (Coralogix, Ltd.)

Coralogix is a log analytics platform that we use to improve back-end server monitoring, delivery and maintenance process for our software. 

AppSee Mobile Session Recordings (Shift 6, Ltd.)

AppSee is a solution for recording and then replaying what visitors are doing on each page of our mobile apps.  We use it to improve the usability of our applications.

Opt out details
Find AppSee's privacy policy https://www.appsee.com/legal/privacypolicy 
If you wish to opt-out or block these cookies, please refer to the "Help" area on your internet browser for further instructions. For example, you can instruct your browser, by changing its options, to stop accepting cookies or to prompt you before accepting a cookie from the website you visit. Click “Help” in the toolbar of your browser for instructions.

Functional

These cookies allow us to remember choices you make and provide enhanced features. 

powerradar.energy and panpwrws.com

We use cookies to enhance the usability of site visits.  These include cookies that capture your personal preference, to be maintained through your visits to the web-platform. 

Opt out details
If you wish to opt out of these cookies you will need to change your browser settings. Cookie browser options.  

This list was last updated November 2018