Consulting Report
31 Jan 2024

Seeing behind the meter: How electric utilities are adapting to the surge in distributed energy resources

In collaboration with Siemens

Utility companies in North America are hurrying to keep up with historic changes taking place in the way electricity is generated, consumed, and monetized. But most companies lack the ability to measure and manage an energy economy impacted by the rapid adoption of electric vehicles, solar panels, and batteries, known as distributed energy resources, or DERs.

To better understand how electric utilities in the US and Canada are managing the rapid adoption of behind-the-meter distributed energy resources, Oxford Economics and Siemens surveyed 100 decision-makers from the industry during the fourth quarter of 2023. To complement the survey findings, two in-depth interviews were conducted with Yoh Kawanami, Director of Customer Energy Resources at Hawaiian Electric, and Michael McMaster, Solution Architect for NextGen Grid Management at Siemens.

The experts behind the research

Our Thought Leadership team produces original, evidence-based research made accessible to decision-makers and opinion leaders. Principals for this project included:

Sundus Alfi

Senior Research Manager, Thought Leadership

Edward Cone

Editorial Director and Technology Practice Lead, Thought Leadership

Zack Friedman

Managing Editor, Thought Leadership

Margaux McLoughlin

Senior Associate, Thought Leadership

You might be interested in…

Closing the gap: attracting small investors to embrace sustainable investments

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges of this century.

Find Out More
Trump will slow, but not stop, the energy transition

Donald Trump's withdrawal from the Paris Agreement is a symbolic step back from global climate cooperation. However, we don't think the global transition will grind to a halt because the economics remain favourable and climate policies are more entrenched than before. Rather, what the US does at home will have a greater impact on climate.

Find Out More
Flags of US and Canada
Trump’s tariffs on Canada would raise regional commodity prices

A blanket 25% tariff on Canadian imports to the US could have a significant impact on commodity prices, squeeze profit margins of Canadian exporters and raise prices for US end-users.

Find Out More
Eurozone: Surveys have become less predictive; what can plug the gap?

Surveys are a staple of high-frequency economic indicators, but they have become less reliable in predicting hard economic data like GDP growth. This feeds macro volatility – markets still interpret surveys such as PMIs essentially as reliable growth signals. The disconnect between survey and hard data can lead to mispricing.

Find Out More