Three pathways for transforming utility technology in the energy transition and the 4Ds

Published: Enlit-Asia.com

The power sector in Southeast Asia is at a critical crossroads. As the region confronts the imperatives of climate change and the need for sustainable development, utility companies face an unprecedented challenge: transforming their operations in response to the ‘4Ds’ – digitalisation, decentralisation, decarbonisation, and deregulation.

This transformation is not just about staying; it’s about survival in an increasingly complex and dynamic market. Industry analysts predict that within the next decade, every utility will need to overhaul its technology to meet the demands of the energy transition. But what does this transformation look like, and how can utilities, especially electricity retailers, best position themselves to thrive amidst this significant shift?

The Three Pathways of Technological Transformation

Technology adoption is central to every utility’s survival strategy.  “Southeast Asia is increasingly embracing modern technologies to manage a decentralised grid” says Geoff Childs, Managing Director Asia at Gentrack. Childs notes that utilities, particularly  retailers, typically face three options when considering updating their systems, each with its own set of advantages and pitfalls.

The Legacy Upgrade: This approach involves asking existing legacy vendors to upgrade current billing and CRM systems. While it’s a familiar path, it often leads to unexpected complications and a heavy reliance on third-party consultancies. This model typically results in twice the cost and time as expected, with a low likelihood of achieving an effective operating model.  Additionally, if often suffers from poor data synchronisation and  integration.

The Hybrid Approach: This approach involves upgrading to a modern CRM system and integrating it with a new billing system. While it may seem logical, it carries  significant risk.  It is typically 3-4 times more expensive than anticipated (potentially costing between $100-400million), takes 2-4 times longer to implement, and results in divided SLA accountabilities.  Moreover, there is often no joint solution roadmap or coordinated evolution between the CRM and the billing software. 

The Integrated Solution: This approach involves adopting a pre-integrated, modern CRM with new-age billing software. When properly scoped, this option typically stays on time and on budget. It enables real-time synchronisation between customer data in the CRM and the billing software, accelerates time-to-market, and typically enhances the customer experience by minimising errors. 

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