Partner: E Source
Group Members: Rebecca Pascale, Matt Lerman, Madison Bolton, Byamba Chuluunbat
Electric utility business customers, specifically commercial and industrial (C&I) clients, deliver enormous value in shaping the energy ecosystem and offsetting the costs of other ratepayers. These customers are an essential component of the utility client base. Today, the energy industry is rapidly evolving and, for the first time, C&I customers are being presented with a choice of where to get their energy from. Accompanied by these highly disruptive changes is a substantial shift in consumer views on emerging technologies, demand-side management, distributed energy resources, decarbonization, environmental impact, business resilience, and corporate image. These adapting perspectives are significantly altering the relationship between utilities and their key clientele. It is therefore essential for utilities to better understand the needs of these C&I customers.
This capstone partnership with E Source will consist of detailed market research, data mining, high-level trend analysis, and in-depth interviews. The results will then be synthesized to address diverse aspects of the C&I client interface, ranging from small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to large commercial customers. The primary goal of this project is to establish a comprehensive plan to better understand and serve the needs of the New Utility Business Customer.