Capgemini: ‘Energiebedrijven moeten zich snel aanpassen’
31 oktober 2016 – Door een snelle toename van hernieuwbare energie, is de Europese elektriciteitsmarkt gedestabiliseerd. Om met de lage elektriciteitsprijs toch gezond te blijven, moeten energiebedrijven zich snel aanpassen, aldus Capgemini.
De energiebedrijven moeten hun verdienmodellen aanpassen en hun digitale transformatie, gericht op productiviteit en innovatie, versnellen, aldus Capgemini in het European Energy Markets Observatory (EEMO). Voor de opstelling van het jaarlijkse rapport werkte Capgemini samen met het Institute for Climate Economics en onderzoeks- en adviesbureau VaasaETT.
De drie belangrijkste conclusies, volgens Capgemini:
1. De val van de prijs voor hernieuwbare energie zet door, ook in de toekomst.
Uit een bericht van Capgemini
‘(…) According to Colette Lewiner, Energy and Utilities expert at Capgemini, “Additional efforts in R&D and industrialization are necessary to take advantage of the fall in renewable energy costs. Reform of the current system of subsidies is also urgent; it is expensive and not justified for energies that are maturing. In parallel, the European carbon market must be reformed, for example imposing floor prices or taxes to incentivize de-carbonized investments.” (…)’
2. De elektriciteitsmarkten blijven uit balans en de lage prijzen blijven de energiebedrijven bedreigen.
De energiebedrijven moeten zich aanpassen, en snel, aldus Capgemini. Zowel om hun eigen financiële situatie als de betrouwbaarheid van de energievoorziening te verbeteren.
‘(…) With priority given to renewables in order of merit, Utilities, like in previous years, are closing gas or coal power stations, which operate for too little time to be profitable. (…) The closing of these capacities, used to meet peak demand, weakens the security of supply. (…)
According to Perry Stoneman: “It is essential that Utilities adapt their business models to the fundamental changes in the markets, including decentralization of production, an increase in renewables, new requests from consumers (in particular energy services), and the arrival of new players. They must simplify their organization and accelerate digital transformation, which will enable them to make productivity gains, grow profitable revenue streams, and become more innovative and agile.” (…)’
3. Door de energietransitie is decentrale energieopwekking in opkomst, wat uitdagingen met zich meebrengt voor netwerkbedrijven.
Netwerkbedrijven zouden moeten investeren in smart grids, aldus Capgemini, en oplossingen zoeken voor energieopslag.
‘(…) Network managers look to storage technologies to help balance demand and production on the network. One such form of storage is batteries; while they remain expensive, the price of Lithium-Ion batteries is falling and will continue to do so, therefore offering a genuine solution for storage.
Another way of achieving supply-demand balance is to make consumption more flexible, with price signals reflecting the low production costs when renewables produce a large amount of electricity. Perry Stoneman continued: “Distribution network managers have an increasingly central role in market operations. They face high activity with the connection of renewable plants, the deployment of smart meters, and the exploitation of the large volume of data coming from these meters. This data, which contains interesting information on consumer behaviors, could, under certain conditions, be made available to consumers themselves as well as industry players: distributors would then become data suppliers too.” (…)’
De Europese Unie moet daarnaast hervormingen doorvoeren in de emissiehandel en de financiering van hernieuwbare energieprojecten, stelt het rapport.
Bronnen
Capgemini, persbericht, 28 oktober 2016: Utilities need to quickly adapt their business models and embrace innovation to address the new market realities, finds Capgemini’s European Energy Markets Observatory report
Capgemini, rapport, 28 oktober 2016: European Energy Markets Observatory (pdf)
