COMPANY DESCRIPTION
Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company. Committed to delivering innovation, Accenture collaborates with its clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. With deep industry and business process expertise, broad global resources and a proven track record, Accenture can mobilize the right people, skills and technologies to help clients improve their performance.
Accenture has deep utility consulting expertise and strong execution capabilities to offer to its utilities clients. Utilities Industry consulting competence centre has more than 30 years-experience working with electric, gas and water utilities worldwide. It already invests in the European research on smart technologies.
Worldwide, Accenture Utilities competence centre represents the experience of 15,000 skilled utilities industry professionals who are taking part today or who took part in the past in transformation projects at every level of the energy value chain: Accenture clients include electricity and gas utilities, producers, distribution system operators, transport system operators, retailers, customer services, etc.
INVOLVEMENT IN SMART GRID
Accenture Utilities knowledge is reinforced by its own research programs. Since 2013, the Digitally Enabled Grid program is providing actionable insights and recommendations around the challenges and opportunities utilities face along the path to a smarter grid. The program draws upon primary research insights from utilities executives around the world as well as extensive Accenture modelling and analysis. It is updated on a yearly basis, and includes:
- Interview of more than 220 Utilities representatives in more than 20 countries.
- Analysis of various scenarios to address the way that distributed renewable energy sources, energy efficiency and energy demand evolution will impact the grids and their business models.
- An assessment of how storages or demand-response can be used to support the distribution grid management.
Another Accenture research program, The New Energy Consumer is designed to help utilities understand emerging consumer needs and preferences, to identify new challenges and opportunities and to bring focus to the critical competencies required to succeed in the evolving energy marketplace. The program draws upon primary research insights from end consumers around the world, leading practices from industry and cross-industry providers, and technology adoption analysis.
Accenture already invests in the European research on smart technologies. For example, Accenture joined the TRANSFORM program, a consortium of six European cities, led by Amsterdam to develop an energy planning decision support environment to visualize and analyse open energy data and create transformation plans. Accenture provided both strategic and program management support and its prescriptive simulation and optimization capability.
Accenture is also involved with strategic energy industry associations. Accenture is an associate member of the Think Smartgrids association, which aims at developing and promoting the smart grids sector in France and in Europe. As an associate member, Accenture is a full member of the association Executive Board.
MAIN TASK ATTRIBUTED IN THE PROJECT
Accenture brings deep strategic and business insights in this project by contributing to communication / dissemination activities, relationship with the external boards and writing of publications targeting non-participating DSOs.
Accenture is involved in the BRIDGE initiative, which is an initiative launched by the European Commission to create synergies between the various projects of the Horizon 2020 framework. Four working groups have been created to tackle issues related to Data Management, Business Models, Regulation and Customer Engagement.