How can utilities survive in the world of Blockchain, renewable and consumer choice?

[ad_2][ad_1] <div _ngcontent-c16 = "" innerhtml = "

Getty

The increase in consumer choice, the exponential growth of renewables and the nascent blockchain technology are forcing utilities to adapt to increasing digitization In the industry, while they still have the task of maintaining stable networks with an affordable energy supply, as CEO of a cloud-based energy solutions platform, I have seen how this can lead many utilities to "run to be seconds" when it comes to to implement new technology advances and new business models.

This was recently brought to focus by Dr. Franz Strempfl, who, according to GreenTechMedia, said : & nbsp; "We need more free space to make pilots, to implement new and innovative projects Perhaps 50% of these projects will end in disaster. It is not a pity to have it, because we learn from failure much more than success. "

Being cautious or slow to adopt new digital tendencies is not a trait that is only seen in the utility space." I observed that the trade route is studded with societies that were once giants of their time, but who labored to innovate in line with the fundamental changes they face before Blockbuster Video (paywall) Polaroid & nbsp; and Kodak are just a few recent examples of companies whose attempts to double efforts to convince customers to use their legacy analog products, rather than investing in new technologies and new business models, have been widely publicized – and those who have struggled accordingly. & nbsp;

L & # 39. Adaptation is the hallmark of survivability in any industry The fact that 88% of Fortune 500 companies in 1955 did not appear in the list in 2014, second or a comparison by AEI could talk about the dangers that companies that are too big to fail must face when they take for granted their abilities to survive in an industry-changing climate. The energy suppliers and utilities, from my point of view, would do well to listen to the warnings of the past and embrace the change to ensure its survival. Indeed, long-standing utility is probably threatened. That's why – and how do I feel that utility leaders can avoid that threat.

Survival

The "survival" within it can refer to the ability to remain in business while continuing to exploit the monopolistic taxpayer regulations that prevent customers from "cutting the cable" and detach from the network. However, I believe that true "survival" requires more from these legacy utilities, including the need to evaluate their consolidated business models, manage the inherent risk of current business income flows and radically reinvent their business to ensure relevance in a new technological environment and more options for customers to choose from.

While hindsight is still 20/20, utilities are now starting to consider collaboration with electric vehicle charging companies, energy storage and solar power producers, as shown by California recent announcement by the Commission for the public utility. & Nbsp; But even in this case, I have generally seen only small-scale pilots take shape, while a Deloitte report of 2018 suggests companies and even governmental organizations move towards the widespread adoption of technological breakthroughs in general. . If the utilities had adopted these technologies before, I think they would be the ones that deal with inking with high-impact business partners to implement these solutions in all their building portfolios and to collect additional revenues.

However, it is not too late for utilities to be more proactive in taking new technological advances.

Market forces push utility model modernization

The rise of blockchain technology and its peer-to-peer (P2P) energy exchange prospects are forcing utility companies to re-evaluate their perspectives and begin to adopt new technology, a phenomenon witnessed in reports & nbsp; (paywall) by Scottish & amp; Southern plans to test a flexible energy platform. Consider this scenario: homeowner A has a three kilowatt solar system, but homeowner B has a larger eight-kilowatt array. Instead of buying energy from the network consisting of energy from renewable sources and fossil fuels, and perhaps at a higher price, a homeowner opts to buy excess energy from the homeowner B. & nbsp; The market is already witnessing this change, as evidenced by the solar project plans announced by EnSync Energy Systems in a recent press release .

The company is working with multi-unit homeowners to establish direct energy exchange between units, prioritizing the use of solar energy or stored energy before extracting energy from the grid. Regardless of state regulations that might try to inhibit things like energy exchanges, it is possible that some utilities can be reduced to the simple management of transmission wires with developments like these. Simply put, if customers can acquire the ability to share energy, what is the need for a utility? Utilities must be able to answer this question. & Nbsp;

Cryptocurrency mining is also a new business model that companies are turning cautiously. In the Cascade Mountains in the state of Washington, cryptocurrency miners are flocking the area to access cheap electricity, according to a report by the CNBC. Cryptocurrency mining is a process in which computers are used to solve various puzzles in "winning cryptocurrency". It uses a small amount of electricity and, due to the hydroelectric dams in the area, cryptocurrency miners benefit from energy for the citizens of the area. & Nbsp; Washington's utility challenges will likely be compared with mining encryption operations could take away too much energy from the local grid, overloading the residential electricity infrastructure with commercial-scale electricity demands.

For some entrepreneurs, this may have the smell of a new earning opportunity, but for most utilities, it probably seems like a problem that needs to be stopped so that things can go back to the way they were .

The Future Of Energy Utilities

As we have seen, utilities are slowly adapting to the digitization of the energy sector, it has not always been in ways that are more beneficial to the utility or the end customer. Smart meter implementations are an example.

Now I believe the distributed energy resources, & nbsp; EV, cryptocurrency and other growing blockchain transactions are offering new opportunities for utilities to innovate, create new revenue streams and remain relevant to customers. But it is their choice whether to find ways to embrace these new possibilities of the business model and implement them in their operations & nbsp; or stay on the sidelines waiting for someone else to risk and be the first on the market.

In today's climate, I believe it is no longer enough for companies to simply supply reliable energy to the network. They have to do it, yes, and they must also take steps to get out of their comfort zones to implement new technology solutions, embrace collaboration with existing companies and promote their innovations internally. I believe that those who do it will not only survive the next 50 years of change, they will thrive; some may even be pioneers. If they do not, customers will probably come up with ways to get around them.

The Business Council of Forbes San Francisco is the leading organization of growth and networking for business owners in Greater San Francisco.
Do I qualify?

">

The increase in consumer choice, the exponential growth of renewables and the nascent blockchain technology are forcing utilities to adapt to the growing digitalization of the industry. All the time, they still have the task of maintaining stable networks with an accessible energy supply. As CEO of a cloud-based energy solutions platform, I've seen how this can lead many utilities to "run to be second" when it comes to implementing new technological advances and new business models.

This was recently brought to bear by Dr. Franz Strempfl, who, according to GreenTechMedia, said: "We need more free space to make pilots, to make new and innovative projects. of these projects will end in disaster.It is not a sin to have it, because we learn from failure much more than success. "

Being cautious or slow in adopting new digital trends is not a trait that is only seen in space of utility. I have observed that the trade route is studded with companies that once were the giants of their time, but who struggled to innovate in line with the fundamental changes they face. Blockbuster Video (paywall), Polaroid and Kodak are just a few recent examples of companies whose efforts to redouble their efforts to convince customers to use their legacy analog products, rather than investing in new technologies and new business models, have been extensively advertised – and who has struggled as a result.

Adaptation is the hallmark of survivability in any industry. The fact that 88% of Fortune 500 companies in 1955 did not appear in the list in 2014, according to a comparison with AEI, could talk about the dangers that are too big for companies fail when they take their ability to survive in an evolving industry for granted. The energy suppliers and utilities, from my point of view, would do well to listen to the warnings of the past and embrace the change to ensure its survival. Indeed, long-standing utility is probably threatened. That's why – and how I feel that utility leaders can avoid this threat.

Survivability

"Survivability" within it can refer to the ability of a company to remain in business while continuing to exploit the monopolistic variable rate rules that prevent customers from "cutting the wire "and to detach from the network. However, I believe that true "survival" requires more from these legacy utilities, including the need to evaluate their consolidated business models, manage the inherent risk of current business income flows and radically reinvent their business to ensure relevance in a new technological environment and more options for customers to choose from.

While hindsight is still 20/20, utilities are starting to consider collaboration with electric vehicle charging companies, energy storage companies and solar power producers, as shown by California The recent announcement of the Commission of public utility. But even in this case, I have generally seen only small-scale pilots take shape, while a 2018 Deloitte report suggests that companies and even governmental organizations appear to be moving towards the generalized adoption of technological breakthroughs in general. If the utilities had adopted these technologies before, I think they would be the ones that deal with inking with high-impact business partners to implement these solutions in all their building portfolios and to collect additional revenues.

However, it is not too late for utilities to be more proactive in taking new technological advances.

Market forces push utility model modernization

The rise of blockchain technology and its peer-to-peer (P2P) energy exchange prospects are forcing utility companies to re-evaluate their perspectives and to adopt new technologies, a phenomenon witnessed in the reports (paywall) of Scottish & Southern plans to test a flexible energy platform. Consider this scenario: homeowner A has a three kilowatt solar system, but homeowner B has a larger eight-kilowatt array. Instead of buying energy from the network consisting of energy from renewable sources and fossil fuels, and perhaps at a higher price, a homeowner opts to purchase excess energy from the homeowner B. The market is already witnessing this change, highlighted by solar project plans announced by EnSync Energy Systems in a recent press release.

The company is working with multi-unit homeowners to establish direct energy exchange between units, prioritizing the use of solar energy or stored before withdrawing electricity from the grid. Regardless of state regulations that might try to inhibit things like energy exchanges, it is possible that some utilities can be reduced to the simple management of transmission wires with developments like these. Simply put, if customers can acquire the ability to share energy, what is the need for a utility? Utilities must be able to answer this question.

Cryptocurrency mining is also a new business model that companies are wandering cautiously. In the Cascade Mountains in Washington state, cryptocurrency miners are flocking the area to access cheap electricity, according to a report by CNBC. Cryptocurrency mining is a process in which computers are used to solve various puzzles to "win" cryptocurrency. It uses a small amount of electricity and, due to the hydroelectric dams in the area, cryptocurrency miners benefit from energy for the citizens of the area. The challenge utilities in Washington will probably face mining encryption operations that could steal too much energy from the local grid, overloading the residential electricity infrastructure with commercial-scale electricity demands.

For some entrepreneurs, this may have the smell of a new revenue opportunity, but for most utilities, it probably looks like a problem that needs to be stopped so that things can go back to being like they were.

The Future Of Energy Utilities

As we have seen, utilities are slowly adapting to the digitization of the energy sector, it has not always been in ways that are more beneficial to the utility or the end customer. Smart meter implementations are an example.

I now believe that distributed energy resources, EVs, cryptocurrency and other fast-growing blockchain transactions offer new opportunities for utilities to innovate, create new revenue streams and remain relevant to customers. But it is their choice whether to find ways to embrace these new possibilities of the business model and implement them in their operations or stay on the sidelines waiting for someone else to risk and be the first on the market.

In today's climate, I believe it is no longer enough for companies to simply supply reliable energy to the network. They have to do it, yes, and they must also take steps to get out of their comfort zones to implement new technology solutions, embrace collaboration with existing companies and promote their innovations internally. I believe that those who do it will not only survive the next 50 years of change, they will thrive; some may even be pioneers. If they do not, customers will probably discover ways to get around them.

[ad_2]Source link