Municipal utilities must cooperate for future success – study

Local energy suppliers say that alliances in the industry and with new outside players are needed to secure their economic success in the future, according to a study conducted by the consultancy PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and commissioned by the German Association of Local Utilities (VKU). New business areas could best be developed this way, as risks and know-how can be shared and transferred. The study is based on interviews of local utility representatives, and PwC includes a market analysis and proposals on how companies should act. The study’s “management summary”, seen by the Clean Energy Wire, says that municipal utilities are under pressure due to increasingly complex regulatory regimes, digitalisation, and competition. “There hardly exists a business model for conventional [power] generation in the current market environment,” writes PwC, and adds that renewables generation is seen more positively by local utilities.

For background, read the CLEW factsheet Small, but powerful – Germany’s municipal utilities.