Embracing a competitive and digital future for utilities.
Jack Azagury is the global managing director for Accenture Smart Grid Services and leads Accenture’s Digitally Enabled Grid research program.
Distribution utilities are facing unprecedented challenges on multiple fronts; indeed, there’s even a debate that goes as far as questioning the distribution utility’s very survival. More specifically, we’re seeing a four-pronged threat from increasing cost pressures and regulatory mandates; rapid growth of distributed generation, including solar, storage, and microgrids; continued pressure to improve reliability and response to extreme weather events; and evolving consumer expectations with a continued decline in consumers’ trust. In fact, our research has shown that today, consumer trust in utilities is the lowest that it’s been in four years, with only 24 percent of consumers trusting their energy provider to offer advice on energy efficiency.1