MGK Report: Exploring the Next Frontier in Utility Value-Added Services

With the imperative to provide sustainable energy increasingly joining the safe, reliable, and affordable mandate, the idea that utilities can provide value-added services beyond just delivering electricity and gas has gained momentum around the United States. Value-added services are broadly defined as a utility’s programmatic offerings to customers outside the traditional business of delivering safe, reliable, and affordable system power and gas.

Examples of value-added services utilities are offering today include support and incentives for:

• Electrification, ranging from support for electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure to rebates for EVs, air source heat pumps, and electrified commercial and industrial equipment
• Distributed energy resources (DERs), ranging from battery storage systems to rooftop solar and more
• New approaches to reduce, shift and control electricity use at key times, including demand response, flexible demand, and energy efficiency programs
• Resiliency solutions such as microgrids

In this special report, we share results from a survey of utility leaders revealing their views on developing microgrids as value-added services for customers, then explore the vanguard of value-added services related to EVs, DERs, demand response and more offered by six leading utilities from around the country