Abstract

The traditional energy utility business model and cash-flow generation which are based on the increase in energy supply (at the lowest cost) run counter to society’s drive towards energy efficiency. The global response to unmitigated greenhouse gas emissions puts the existing energy generation and supply model at risk and threatens the bottom line of utilities. To sustain growth, improve competitiveness and drive business value, the industry needs to transform and take advantage of the business opportunities that arise from a low-carbon energy system.

Utilities are under intense political and policy pressure to take appropriate measures to reduce the energy end use by their customers. Apart from political and regulatory factors threatening utility business models and revenues, additional and more significant threats come from the fast growth of the energy-efficient products and services market. Faced with these realities, business as usual will no longer be an option for most energy utilities. To cope with this discontinuity, utilities need to seek for and benefit from new sources of revenues and profits in emerging energy-related businesses as well as formulate new business models that will complete a successful paradigm shift from their traditional business to modern energy-related service provision schemes.

In this context the thesis will focus on assessing the potential and feasibility of transitioning current business practices of energy utilities through first-of-a-kind services (following the Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) delivery approach) that utilize state-of-the-art ICT technologies to enable the deployment of highly effective demand side management programmes with the participation of the tertiary building sector.