Would You Rather Build Out Your Infrastructure or Your App?

Energy is going digital. With that in mind, utilities and energy companies may want to answer “app” to the question above. However, that may be a mistake.

At the forefront of energy transformation, utilities and energy companies seem to find themselves at a crossroads. Increased electrification necessitates investments in expanding physical energy infrastructure. On the other hand, increased digitisation calls for prioritising digital technology expenditures.

So, which direction is best to take?

Our answer is “neither.”

At True Energy, we agree that the future of energy is digital. Simultaneously, electrification is happening across all parts of society. But does this necessitate big, expensive grid construction projects and equally resource-consuming digital development?

We propose a different approach.

Managed APIs and the future of energy

The future of energy will likely be as much about collaboration as digitisation and electrification. We see Managed APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) as vital. APIs, which offer seamless integration of existing solutions into your service portfolio, provide ways to optimise both infrastructure and digital resources.

Companies can reshape their business landscape by integrating partners’ solutions, exemplified by True Energy’s Managed API offerings and grasp new opportunities and possibilities, including grid management and customer solutions.

The benefits are many. For example, studies indicate that Managed API solutions empower utilities to support energy consumption practices that ease grid pressure during peak hours. One way of achieving this is by utilities encouraging energy use away from peak times, for example, through intelligent, automatic scheduling of energy consumption when prices are lower. This increases efficiency, saves costs, and ensures that existing infrastructure can meet future electricity demand better.

In other words, Managed APIs present a pragmatic avenue for utilities and energy companies to enhance service and energy delivery without the colossal capital outlay traditionally associated with digital development and infrastructure expansion. Furthermore, it aligns seamlessly with the need for energy industry companies to offer intelligent and adaptive solutions across energy management to meet customers’ needs and demands.

Meeting energy consumers' demands

21st-century consumers continue to show their support for sustainable products and services, including renewables and electric vehicles (EVs). For energy and utility companies, it creates immediate needs. Providing solutions that resonate with consumers’ consumption patterns and preferences, including for charging EVs, requires innovation at speed.?

In this context, Managed APIs offer easy, fast deployment of solutions like smart charge for EVs. Similarly, they can enhance consumers’ energy management experiences while ensuring grid reliability and sustainability.?

The question is not whether utilities should expand infrastructure or evolve applications but how they can best optimise investments for sustainable, efficient, and consumer-resonant service delivery. In this light, Managed APIs can be instrumental in navigating challenges and ensuring a progressive trajectory of innovation, strategic investment, and enhanced service delivery.