The proliferation of distributed generation, electric vehicles, and smart products; the participation of demand response assets in power generation markets; and national goals on energy and climate change are straining the traditional business model. As solar prices continue to fall, consumer adoption of solar generation will accelerate, further challenging the industry. The impact of these changes is directly observable in the financial reports of European utilities today, as margins continue to erode and, in some cases losses are mounting. What is happening in Europe today will be a reality in the U.S. and the rest of the world in the coming years.

Transforming business models to offer value-added services is one clear approach to shoring up financials. The close rate of product and service offerings is much higher when a customer already has a relationship with a company. Utilities, therefore, have the opportunity to bring new services to market. Appliance monitoring or service contracts, security services, home warranty services, and solar services are all opportunities; in addition, the smart home enables many new business models as well.

Parks Associates will highlight these issues at the upcoming Smart Energy Summit, Feb 22-24, in Austin Texas. More information: www.smartenergysummit2016.com

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