User Manual

8
Business Resiliency and Energy Innovation
utility’s costs have to be spread over a
smaller base of customers, which drives
up prices. As prices increase, more
customers defect, creating a downward
spiral that Green Mountain Power is
determined to avoid.
Conclusion: A New Energy
Skill Set
In terms of energy and innovation,
Winston draws an analogy between
marketing executives and social media.
“There was a time when the rise of social
media was something that marketing
executives were aware of but didn’t do
much with,” he says. “A decade later, it’s
a skill they have to have.”
Energy innovation is similar. The vast
majority of business, health care, and
higher education leaders are quite
concerned about the costs of energy
and interruptions from weather-related
events and cyberattacks on the grid.
Yet only a fraction of organizations
Endnotes
1 Daniel Gross, “Put a Solar Panel On It. ” Slate, January 29, 2016
2 Andrew Winston, George Favaloro, Tim Healy, “Energy Strategy for the C-Suite.” Harvard Business Review, January-February 2017
3 Dianne Cardwell, “Utility Helps Wean Vermonters from the Electric Grid.” The New York Times, July 29, 2017
have business resiliency and energy
procurement strategies in place.
The time is ripe to pick up the pace.
The U.S. is entering a new energy era.
The costs of renewable energy are
declining, and technological innovation
is creating opportunities to be less
reliant on power grids, including by
generating power on-site. To meet
the demands of a changing energy
landscape, organizational leaders are
well advised to add energy innovation
to their skill sets.
ONLY A FRACTION
OF ORGANIZATIONS
HAVE BUSINESS
RESILIENCY AND
ENERGY PROCUREMENT
STRATEGIES IN PLACE.