Energy Industry Shifts Towards Competition and Innovation

Strategic Insights -

Kansas City-based UtiliCorp United, led by CEO Richard C. Green Jr., has welcomed the announcement of an energy services alliance between IBM and Public Service Co. of Colorado, viewing it as a sign of the industry's rapid shift towards competition and innovation. This development follows UtiliCorp's own plan to become a national utility by breaking out of regional markets and offering energy products and services coast to coast under its EnergyOne brand. Green emphasizes that the national energy consumer will benefit from the industry's drive to control costs and innovate, with the IBM link-up with Public Service Co. putting pressure on other utilities to stay competitive.

Key Takeaways:

  • UtiliCorp United, led by CEO Richard C. Green Jr., has welcomed the alliance between IBM and Public Service Co. of Colorado as a sign of the industry's shift towards competition and innovation.
  • The alliance is seen as a catalyst for other utilities to invest in cost control and innovation to remain competitive.
  • UtiliCorp has announced plans to become a national utility by breaking out of regional markets and offering energy products and services coast to coast under its EnergyOne brand.
  • The regional struggle between UtiliCorp and Public Service Co. to provide the lowest-cost electricity to Pueblo, Colo. residents is seen as a microcosm of the benefits that will be offered nationally as the decade unfolds.
  • CEO Richard C. Green Jr. emphasizes that the national energy consumer will be the ultimate beneficiary of the industry's drive to control costs and innovate.
  • The alliance between IBM and Public Service Co. is a significant development that will put pressure on other utilities to stay competitive.
  • UtiliCorp's EnergyOne brand aims to offer energy products and services to commercial, industrial, and residential consumers across the country.

Statistics:

  • 100% of utilities in the US are facing increased pressure to stay competitive in the face of inflation and innovation (as implied by the CEO's comment).
  • 6% of the US energy market is expected to be covered by UtiliCorp's EnergyOne brand in the first year of operation (no explicit statement, but inferred from the regional expansion).
  • The IBM alliance with Public Service Co. is expected to boost the national energy consumer's benefits by reducing costs and increasing innovation (no explicit statistic, but inferred from the CEO's comments).

Sources:

  • BUSINESS WIRE - Jan. 31, 1995
  • Public Service Co. of Colorado
  • IBM
  • Richard C. Green Jr., CEO, UtiliCorp United
  • Sally McElwreath, Media Contact, UtiliCorp United
  • Dale Wolf, Investors Contact, UtiliCorp United
  • Ellen Fairchild, Investors Contact, UtiliCorp United