How the energy cloud is unlocking new business value for the power Industry

Metering.com March 20, 2018

Navigant has released a new white paper describing how stakeholders in the energy sector can capture business value through the emergence of dynamic, high-growth, customer-centric platforms.

The whitepaper Energy Cloud 4.0 analyses how seven key energy cloud platforms can help customers, industry leaders and shareholders to accelerate the energy transformation.

The seven cloud platforms include integrated distributed energy resources, transportation2Grid, building2Grid, Internet of Energy, transactive energy, smart cities, and the neural grid.

The paper discusses how the platforms could help stakeholders to meet customer demands, carbon emission and other business efficiency goals.

Unlocking the platforms will enable stakeholders to change simplify adoption of new business models.

For instance, utilities will be able to generate new revenue streams emerging with the new distributed energy resources model.

Utilities would be able to improve customer services by adopting new technologies and digitising operations enabling them to introduce new services and products.

Operational costs will be reduced through the elimination of bulk energy transmission owing to decentralised energy generation.

To succeed in tomorrow’s Energy Cloud environment, the white paper recommends energy companies and utilities prioritize these objectives in the short term:

  • Move rapidly to the energy systems of the future — the time is now.
  • Grasp market opportunities derived from increasing consumer demand for new energy products and services.
  • Maximize the business benefits offered by Energy Cloud platforms and the digitization of the energy system.

Jan Vrins, MD of Global Energy practice at Navigant, commented: “Energy Cloud platforms sit at the confluence of rapidly changing customer demands and highly disruptive technology.

“These emerging Energy Cloud platforms have the potential to scale faster and yield greater profit margins than the traditional asset-focused and supply models that dominate the industry today, and offer the potential to offset flat or declining load growth.”

Mackinnon Lawrence, Director at Navigant, added: “Energy companies and utilities need to be proactive in responding to changing market pressures and increasingly agile in adopting innovative new business models.

Download the whitepaper here