The SAP Utilities Core module plays a critical role in enabling companies to meet their decarbonization goals. In this article, we will explore how the SAP solution helps utility companies achieve their sustainability objectives.
The energy crisis has two significant facets that require attention. First, there is the need for decarbonization to prevent a further rise in global temperatures. Second, there is the issue of soaring and highly fluctuating energy prices, caused by turbulence in the energy market due to the war in Ukraine.
Policies like the European Green Deal have been implemented to address the need for decarbonization. The goal is to decrease the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030, compared to 1990 levels. Additionally, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has prompted the implementation of new policies like RePowerEU to reduce the EU’s reliance on Russian fossil fuels.
The Shift Towards Renewable Energy
The most logical solution to tackle both aspects of the energy crisis is to shift away from fossil fuels and towards renewable energy sources. Renewable energies are now the fastest-growing source of energy, contributing to half of the growth in global supplies. In fact, it is projected that renewable energy will become the largest source of power by 2040.
In most regions, wind and solar power are currently the most cost-effective sources of electricity generation, even without subsidies from the government. The pressure to transition towards renewable energy sources has been present for many years, but the current energy crisis necessitates more immediate action.
Some countries have already implemented measures to mitigate the impact of rising energy prices. In France, for instance, utility companies are allowed to reduce energy taxes to limit the increase in energy prices to a maximum of four percent. In Germany, a price ceiling has been introduced for gas and energy called ‘Gas- und Strompreisbremse’ to encourage citizens towards safer energy practices and shield the billing amounts for gas, electricity, and district heating for 80% of their previous year’s consumption.
SAP Utilities’ Role in the Transition to Decentralized Energy Resources
According to SAP Global Vice President and Utilities Industry Business Unit Head Daniela Sellmann, the tech giant collaborates with the German-speaking SAP user group (Deutschsprachige SAP-Anwendergruppe e.V) and other organizations to incorporate recently passed legislation into their systems to enable their customers to comply with their obligations to end-users. The transition to renewable energy also necessitates an increase in decentralized energy resources (DERs) to manage renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, or bioenergy, which are mainly produced by small, local generation assets that are directly connected to the distribution grid.
However, the intermittent nature of these sources creates balancing challenges for supply and demand in power grids. Furthermore, industrial, commercial, and residential customers are changing their energy demands, generating their energy and becoming “energy flexumers” who produce, provide flexibility, and consume energy. This shift in customers’ behavior requires utility companies to adopt a full-service approach instead of only selling energy and water.
The energy industry faces various challenges in its transition to sustainable energy sources, and digital transformation provides solutions to these challenges and drivers of new business models and services. Recognizing this, the EU has created the Digitalization of Energy Action Plan, which outlines measures to use modern technologies to enhance the efficient use of energy resources, facilitate the integration of renewables into the grid, and save costs for EU consumers and energy firms.
With the proliferation of smart devices and other sources, utilities must have a strategy for managing the deluge of data and leveraging it to improve their intelligence. SAP refers to this as the intelligent enterprise, which is made possible by integrating data and processes and innovating with industry best practices. At the core of this is the SAP Utilities Core solution.
Sellmann explained that SAP provides organizations with a trusted platform to securely run their critical business transactions such as meter-to-cash deployed in the cloud using SAP Utilities Core. She added that SAP intelligent technologies like machine learning (ML) to further automate and streamline core business processes and improve productivity. Sellmann further stated:
“At the same time, we enable customers to drive innovation and increase speed and agility by leveraging SAP Business Technology Platform and the industry cloud with solutions like SAP Cloud for Energy for managing times series data from meters. Further, we leverage our partner ecosystem to fill white spaces and gaps as well as to scale spread and adoption.”
