Smart Utilities

The profound transformation of the networks favored by the rise and the convergence of new technologies, the strong regulatory push, the increasing impact of issues related to energy efficiency and environmental sustainability and the digitization of the final user - more and more connected, interactive and social - play a significant role in the transformation of Energy & Utilities companies along the entire value chain.

The European Union, followed by local regulatory authorities, was active on two fronts: pushing for the liberalization of the electricity market and approving the Directives on Renewables and Energy Efficiency, within the policy framework of the 20-20-20 plan, that provides for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 20%, rising to 20% the energy produced from renewable sources and achieving a 20% of energy savings, all by 2020.

Among the 10 pillars of the Strategic Energy Technology Plan, the European Union has recently introduced Smart Cities, identifying the city as the natural place for the development of technological solutions aimed at optimizing energy production and consumption. The introduction of "intelligent" elements in telecommunications and energy networks - which are now becoming city services - constitutes the basis for designing Smart Cities. Local governments in Europe and in the whole world are in fact concentrating on their development, opening the doors to Utilities (energy, water, transport) and to providers of services and technology.

Reply has been working for years beside the major players in the market, assisting them in the development and implementation of major process and technological improvements. Reply can boast extensive operational expertise in the most innovative process areas: Smart Metering, Meter Data Management, Forecasting, Pricing, Portfolio Optimization, Energy Trading & Risk Management and Energy Management. These capabilities, open to the entire European Energy & Utilities market, as well as those more typically associated with the implementation of solutions in support of the main CRM Billing processes, make of Reply the ideal partner for leading the unstoppable process of transformation through major innovative projects, capable of considering the three distinctive drivers: digitization of the final user, introduction and development of network automation technologies and understanding and managing the Regulatory Framework.

The enhancement of the overall energy efficiency, with the related technological and commercial solutions, represent one of the most promising development areas for the years to come. The inclusion of consumers in the energy market, the wide spread of self-monitoring tools, the related costs, optimized consumption and even the possibility of self-produced micro-networks will be the key factors for the development of Smart and Customer-Centric Utilities.