New Business Models for Electric Utility Companies

Today, electric utilities find themselves in the midst of a dramatic transformative change with powerful and potentially disruptive drivers such as renewable and distributed energy production or the "smart" power grid. In this industry, innovation hasn't played a major role in the past. However, business model innovation will be of central importance for utility companies as their current business model is outdated. Radically new business models based on information and communication technology, "big data", and multisided platforms which could allow utilities to play a central role in future energy markets are discussed in this book.