#Consumers power utility pickup drivers

Utilities will eventually not be so much in control anymore as they used to be in the past.вЂќДЄs the industry transforms, so will utilities business models. This has many implications to the industry. Consumers will start having a completely different type of engagement with energy, with the commodities that they get from utilities, and obviously also throughout the entire world. вЂњThis paradigm shift really is taking us from pretty much a consumer-centric model to a prosumer-centric model. They generate their own energy and feed it back to the grid, which increases affordability but also creates operational complexity.Дuring the event, Miguel Gaspar Silva, global head of utilities IBU for SAP, said prosumers are playing a role in the significant changes currently affecting the utilities industry. The utilities sector is also experiencing the emergence of digital energy вЂprosumersвЂ™ вЂ“ businesses or people who are both consumers and producers. Digital adoption and rapid technological change are forcing utility providers to rethink how they work, the services they provide, and their current business models.When customers have a choice of which type of power they want to receive, a growing number of consumers focus on greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction and choose not to receive power generated from fossil fuels. Emerging customer preferences are influencing stakeholder priorities, decisions, and strategies.This is leading to declining revenue, increasing transmission and distribution system investments, and increased risk regarding grid reliability and cyber-security.

As more renewable energy sources are tied to the grid, having hundreds or thousands of power generation points and types makes the power grid more complex to operate. The move from centralized to decentralized energy generation is rapidly expanding. Energy providers must balance supply and demand with the global mandate to reduce carbon emissions and the growing demand for renewable energy sources. Significant shifts from human-controlled power generation (such as hydro, oil, coal, or gas, for example) to weather-controlled power generation (solar and wind, for example) create more variables in forecasting supply and demand models. Utility companies must be agile and resilient enough to ensure transmission and distribution lines run properly to prevent or shorten outages on the grid, in gas pipelines, or in water or waste systems. The cost of preparing for disruptions and extreme weather events is constantly on the rise.

Escalating financial impact of shut downs and severe weather events.

#Consumers power utility pickup drivers

Some of the key drivers of change in the industry include: The obstacles and opportunities facing utilities companies were discussed in a recent SAP webinar on the utilities industry. The Biggest Challenges Facing the Utilities Industry ItвЂ™s a heavy load to carry, so utility firms must be up to the challenge.