Energy transition: like in a pandemic, we all need to win

Dear readers, I lead the Dutch Energy & Economics Practice for both Strategy& and PwC Consulting.

Back in 2007 American board game designer, Matt Leacock, devised Pandemic, one of the world’s most successful board games. Unlike many other games, the goal of players in Pandemic is not to beat each other but to work together to combat the spread of disease around the planet.

Not only has Leacock’s game proved prescient for our times but the importance of collaboration for success goes to the heart of the challenges facing today’s power transmission companies. A new report from the World Energy Council, in collaboration with PwC, describes how transmission companies are key to the transition to a cleaner, more affordable and more interdependent energy system.*

But, like the strategy in the board game, success will depend on collaboration. As the CEO of a leading European transmission system operator said to me: “We are all in this together. Energy transition is not a race where, if you are first, you win. In fact, you only win if everyone crosses the line.”

Energy transition is seeing centralised, top-down energy systems being replaced by more complex ecosystems with a myriad of actors. The technical challenges are considerable and, on top of this, many of the driving forces affecting decision frameworks are subject to political uncertainty.

Transmission companies are having to move beyond being physical infrastructure providers to being shapers of a community of energy system actors. They also find themselves increasingly needing to have a social conversation, not just with stakeholders but also the wider public, on the choices that lie in front of the energy system. Maintaining and building their social licence to operate with their community is vital.

These challenges are shifting the skillset and mindset that companies need inside their organisations. As energy networks expand to become wider, more integrated energy ecosystems, there needs to be a stronger emphasis on softer, collaborative aptitudes as well as digital skills. Like the players in Pandemic, competitive success is about a coordinated effort not just individual prowess.

* Performing while transforming: the role of transmission companies in the energy transition, is based on in-depth interviews with CEOs and senior leaders from 37 leading companies from around the world. It is part of a wider conversation that PwC and the World Energy Council is developing with the energy community through dialogues across regions, countries and segments of the energy system.

Be part of that conversation – click here for more information.