Our Experience at European Utility Week 2017

What did we learn from European Utility Week 2017 in Amsterdam It was a really big event Here are some statistics about it: 12,000 + attendees 100 + countries 500 + utilities and grid operators 600 + exhibitors 550 speakers The future is here There is so much going on in the energy field today and all the companies who participated in the exhibition proved it. MClimate’s booth became very popular and we were excited to showcase our new products: Vicki and Bobbie. We were amazed to meet people from all around the world: USA, Portugal, Spain, France, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, United Arab Emirates, etc. We talked to utility experts from E.ON, Enel, Regaz, Enedis, Duferco Energia, EDP, Igdas, SEWA (Sharjah Electricity & Water Authority), EDF, etc and found that most of the utilities have already started the energy revolution with their businesses. We met energy trading companies that have implemented smart home devices in their customers’ offers. We discussed demand response opportunities for residential with companies who have already started pilot projects to balance the grid with interactive devices. All of the experts we talked to proved that customers are the main focus of energy companies today. We learned more about different customer engagement program for boosting energy efficiency. Energy business is not boring If you think that energy business is done by middle-aged old-fashioned engineers you are wrong. During the exhibition, we met many young people (not only males but a significant number of females which proves that energy business is not a male territory) representatives of utility companies who were very knowledgeable and experienced. We learned about many ongoing projects in the energy field that apply innovative technologies like blockchain. Challenges for energy companies During the exhibition, it was proved that the “smart home concept” is not anything revolutionary for utilities. Not anymore. It is an ongoing topic for energy companies. The market of smart home devices is already competitive and we could see this from the other exhibiting companies: Nest, Tiko, Hive, Develco, Fifthplay, etc. Energy companies have already assessed all the benefits they can get through smart home devices and they are deploying smart home technologies in their businesses. However, all these devices that are becoming part of people’s lives raise new questions. What to do with the collected behavioral data? How energy companies can benefit from household’s data for consumption, savings, what temperature people like or when they are at home. Big data concerning customers might be a gold mine for energy companies and they need to figure out how to take most of it. Big thanks to Andy Bradley who featured MClimate in one of the industry's top blogs Delta EE: "We were fascinated to meet this Bulgarian start-up, MClimate, who seems to have a bunch of talented young people!" Read his article "EUW 2017 - The hot topics" here!