EnerNOC, global leader in smart energy management

Today, in the electricity industry, systems and software used to enable demand response services are considered a precious resource. The development and implementation of grids and smart meters, combined with the use of sensors and analysis algorithms, allow maximising efficiency and optimising consumption. It is by looking at the opportunities of this innovative segment of the energy market that we have decided to take up this challenge by bringing EnerNOC, one of the leading companies on a global level in the development of active demand and demand response systems, into the Enel Group.

The acquisition was completed in August 2017 and carried out through its subsidiary, Enel Green Power North America, which now owns 100% of EnerNOC.

 

As Francesco Venturini, Head of Enel X explains, the finalisation of the transaction represents "a crucial step forward for Enel and for our Business Line, and will allow us to offer an unprecedented range of energy services to our customers, both current and future."

The unstoppable evolution of digital technologies has driven Enel to look beyond the traditional limits of the role of a commodity supplier, typical of an electric utility. So, we have decided to open ourselves up to the world of innovative services for the energy sector, a natural consequence of the digital transformation of industry and services. Starting from these considerations, we strive to continue to develop solutions, with the objective to offer customers innovative and advanced services that are able to meet new requirements in terms of economic efficiency and sustainability.

This transaction allows us to bring a business model that covers, in particular, a significant part of the value chain in the context of services for the business segment within the Enel Group. It is a model that we can then export to markets where we are present, but that can also represent the key to access new markets. The completion of the acquisition also enables us to incorporate more than 8,000 customers, 14,000 sites under management and a demand response capacity equal to a total of 6 GW. The portfolio not only covers the North American market and Europe, but also South-East Asia.

The introduction of software to measure, monitor and manage power allows consumers, in particular in the business segment, to play a key role in the operation of the electricity grid, in order to balance supply and demand and to make production more sustainable, while allowing better penetration of renewable sources.

 

Thanks to the digitalisation of the grid, sensors indicate the load peaks, while automated systems are able to divert or reduce the power toward strategic places, reducing the risk of overload. At the same time, smart tools and systems, such as displays or home networks, make it easier for customers to change their behaviour and to reduce consumption at peak times. All this translates into greater efficiency and cutting waste and costs.

The smart use of technology as a tool enabling new business models will help us to be a protagonist both in mature economies, as in the United States or Europe, and in emerging markets such as Africa. Here, for example, we are already engaged in offering new mini-grid and off-grid solutions, in the development of grids at urban and suburban level, as well as in the study applied to alternative systems of access to energy.

 

It is a new paradigm of energy that through digital innovation is changing the role of utilities, enabling innovative services and bringing sustainable and affordable electricity to an increasingly larger number of people.