Tim Probert, Power Engineering International
Energy analyst Capgemini has released a report on the current state of European utilities.
The headline-grabber is that the financial crisis has cut utility investment – both power and gas – by 15 per cent, with figures for 2008 showing that investment in renewable energy fell 14 per cent during the second half of the year. Capgemini calculates that only eight per cent of power generation capacity now under construction in Europe is for renewable sources, while half is for gas fired and 24 per cent coal.
Perhaps more interesting for the futurologists out there is Capgemini’s opinion that utilities must reshape their business models to adapt to a ‘smarter’ Europe. The report anticipates a power market where decentralized generation, smart grids, changing consumer habits plus European Commission directives on energy savings and greenhouse gas emissions change the game.
The onus in advanced economies will be for energy usage per capita not to rise, but fall. For utilities, this requires a fundamental rethink.
As consumers become smarter, so will utilities. To keep ahead, Capgemini suggests, utilities must be not only energy providers but energy advisors - on efficiency, carbon mitigation and demand-side management.
