Utilities Sell Lighting, Cooling and Heating to Large Customers

Abstract

The electric utility industry is entering an era of unprecedented competition. Competition from traditional sources such as natural gas companies, customer cogeneration, and independent power producers are being joined by new sources of competition, namely, other electric utilities. Compounding this situation are two recent occurrences: 1) the passage of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 which encourages wheeling, and 2) the trend toward institutional and industrial customers outsourcing energy generation and production facilities to third-parties. The electric utility industry is searching for ways to combat this competition, develop more value-added services for their customers, and establish long-term contractual relationships with their important customers. Many utilities are considering selling customers not just electrical energy but the more usable forms of energy like lumens of light, chilled water, hot water, and steam. This paper and presentation will outline the recent and near future electric utility operating environment, introduce the numerous benefits that electric utilities derive from selling end-use output, and outline a number of utility efforts to develop end-use products and services.