3 Trends that Are Moving the Competitive Energy Industry Forward

Article by Brian Hill

This May, the research and innovation company DNV GL held its annual conference in Scottsdale, Arizona. Leaders from competitive energy providers, technology companies and regulators came together to discuss the overarching theme of this year’s event: “Discovering the Next Big Thing.” The event’s keynote speakers, diverse panels and open forums delved into the important issues facing the competitive energy industry.

Keynote speaker, Anthony Foxx, chief policy officer at Lyft and former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx’s comments focused on the emerging transformation of public mobility and the importance of perseverance and innovation in today’s changing energy landscape. The second keynote speaker, Asim Haque, former PJM Interconnection’s executive director of strategic policy and external affairs and chairman and chief executive officer of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, discussed the agency’s Power Forward initiative, which encourages innovations such as electric vehicles (EV), renewable energy and grid modernization.

There were three main themes to this year’s event, all related to the future of competitive energy and which all ultimately place the customer at the center of a new array of energy offerings.

Theme 1: Transformative Business Models

Constellation Senior Vice President of Retail Energy Dan Verbanac participated in a panel that focused on how energy technologies and digital solutions are leading to new approaches that are taking the competitive energy industry to a whole new level. Dan spoke about Constellation’s commitment to innovation and emerging technology, citing the company’s development of new products and services including:

• Constellation Offsite Renewables (CORe);
• Investments in emerging technology through Exelon’s venture capital arm, Constellation Technology Ventures; and
• Our ongoing efforts to partner with innovative companies in sustainability, controls and automation, analytics and electrification, such as MarketWatch®, which monitors the forward power and gas markets.

Theme 2: Customer Centricity

Another key theme of the event was the need for the industry to move from an ‘assets’ mindset, common to traditional utilities in the past, to a ‘customer-centric’ mindset. Finding solutions that make customers’ lives better must be the focus of innovation for competitive energy providers.

HubSpot Sales Director Daniel Tyre said in a panel that companies should address the “Segment of One,” meaning that new products should meet the individual needs of the customer in a personal way. Creating a trusting relationship with customers is paramount for the industry to thrive.

At Constellation, we prioritize customer centricity by:

• Working with customers to develop purchasing plans tailored to meet their financial, gas and/or electricity needs;
• Providing businesses with a customized solution for increasing efficiency and reliability; and
• Offering a free tool to allow customers to view and manage energy information for their facilities 24/7 called Energy Manager.

Theme 3: Regulatory Advancement

Enabling long-term sustainable solutions within regulatory frameworks and policies is viewed as key to encouraging a competitive energy industry with business opportunities to offer innovative solutions, benefiting customers.

An example of policies encouraging sustainable actions might include recent New York City legislation that would require buildings of a certain size to reduce climate emissions by 40% by 2030 and more than 80% by 2050.¹  The competitive energy market allows Constellation to offer its Efficiency Made Easy (EME) solution to customers, such as those in New York City, who need or want to make energy efficiency upgrades to reduce carbon emissions and to do so without upfront capital. Constellation’s EME solution allows customers the potential to realize cost savings through a reduction in consumption and an improved load profile, which can positively impact future energy costs and environmental goals.

Energy companies are taking steps to unite around common goals and encourage new energy policies to come to fruition to move the competitive industry forward, protect customers and stimulate innovation.

Constellation recognizes these trends in an ever-changing, competitive industry and incorporates them in its business strategy to continue to create a better experience for customers in managing their energy. Learn more about our gas, power and sustainable energy solutions that can be customized to meet the needs of your facility or business.

Reference

1. https://council.nyc.gov/press/2019/04/18/1730/