Post-COVID Strategies for Utility Companies

If you’re anything like me, you probably have “COVID-fatigue” right about now, but it’s important to take a step back and analyze what the best post-COVID strategies might look like for not only your company, but also for the utility industry as a whole.  Our industry was in a state of transition before the pandemic, and now this evolution is in overdrive.  Let’s take a look at some of the implications.

Implications for Post-COVID Strategies in the Utility Industry

Here is a summary of 5 trends that will likely significantly impact the utility industry in a post-COVID world:

1. Utility companies will need to invest in cybersecurity and emerging technology solutions to enhance the resilience of critical infrastructure such as power plants, electric grids, water infrastructure, and gas pipelines, as well as to enable the proliferation of a more remote workforce.
2. Utility companies will be more “on the hook” for environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives, mainly due to their community integration as well as the fact that they are often used as scapegoats for climate change. This means that many utilities will likely increase the integration of ESG efforts such as diversity and inclusion initiatives into their overall business strategy.
3. Utilities will need to accept a degree of uncertainty around the economic recovery. Any and all post-COVID strategies in the utility industry must be framed by the state of the overall economic recovery.
4. The growth in distributed energy resources (DER), including building electrification initiatives, EV and fleet decarbonization investments, will require utilities to adapt to a more networked infrastructure.
5. Utilities will continue to face an increased level of competition from all sides of the industry – from global oil companies to consumer technology giants – leading to continued industry consolidation.

In the final analysis, the pandemic will accelerate the transformation that has already been occurring in the utility industry for the last several years.  Thus, unless your company wants to be left behind, all of your post-COVID strategies must be executed quickly and responsibly.