Deloitte Insights delivers proprietary research designed to help organizations turn their aspirations into action.

DELOITTE INSIGHTS

  • Home
  • Spotlight
    • Weekly Global Economic Outlook
    • Top 10 Reading Guide
    • Fostering Well-Being
    • Cyber Risk
    • Resilience
  • Topics
    • Strategy
    • Economy & Society
    • Operations
    • Workforce
    • Technology
  • Industries
    • Consumer
    • Energy, Resources, & Industrials
    • Financial Services
    • Government & Public Services
    • Life Sciences & Health Care
    • Technology, Media & Telecom
  • More from Deloitte Insights
    • About
    • Deloitte Insights Magazine
    • Press Room Podcasts
Deloitte.com
Deloitte Insights logo
  • SPOTLIGHT
    • Weekly Global Economic Outlook
    • Top 10 Reading Guide
    • Fostering Well-Being
    • Cyber Risk
    • Resilience
  • TOPICS
    • Strategy
    • Economy & Society
    • Operations
    • Workforce
    • Technology
  • INDUSTRIES
    • Consumer
    • Energy, Resources, & Industrials
    • Financial Services
    • Government & Public Services
    • Life Sciences & Health Care
    • Technology, Media & Telecom
  • MORE FROM DELOITTE INSIGHTS
    • About
    • Deloitte Insights Magazine
    • Press Room Podcasts
  • Welcome!

    For personalized content and settings, go to your My Deloitte Dashboard

    Latest Insights

    In a competitive labor market for retail workers, sustainability programs could give employers an edge

    Article
     • 
    5-min read

    A framework for managing an extended and connected workforce

    Article
     • 
    2-min read

    Recommendations

    Government Trends 2023

    Article

    Navigating toward a new normal: 2023 Deloitte corporate travel study

    Article
     • 
    17-min read

    About Deloitte Insights

    About Deloitte Insights

    Deloitte Insights Magazine, Issue 31

    Magazine

    Press Room Podcasts

    Podcasts

    Topics for you

    • Business Strategy & Growth
    • Leadership
    • Operations
    • Marketing & Sales
    • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
    • Emerging Technologies
    • Economy

    Watch & Listen

    Dbriefs

    Stay informed on the issues impacting your business with Deloitte's live webcast series. Gain valuable insights and practical knowledge from our specialists while earning CPE credits.

    Deloitte Insights Podcasts

    Join host Tanya Ott as she interviews influential voices discussing the business trends and challenges that matter most to your business today. 

    Subscribe

    Deloitte Insights Newsletters

    Looking to stay on top of the latest news and trends? With MyDeloitte you'll never miss out on the information you need to lead. Simply link your email or social profile and select the newsletters and alerts that matter most to you.

Welcome back

Still not a member? Join My Deloitte

Energy management: Paused by pandemic, but poised to prevail

by Marlene Motyka, Jim Thomson, Kate Hardin, Suzanna Sanborn
  • Save for later
  • Download
  • Share
    • Share on Facebook
    • Share on Twitter
    • Share on Linkedin
    • Share by email
6 minute read 08 July 2020

Energy management: Paused by pandemic, but poised to prevail Deloitte Resources 2020 Study

6 minute read 09 July 2020
  • Marlene Motyka United States
  • Jim Thomson United States
  • Kate Hardin United States
  • Suzanna Sanborn United States
  • Suzanna Sanborn United States
  • Save for later
  • Download
  • Share
    • Share on Facebook
    • Share on Twitter
    • Share on Linkedin
    • Share by email
  • Introduction
  • The Reinforcers: Three key trends that support continued energy management progress
  • The Bellwethers: Two trends that may indicate future energy management momentum
  • The Hurdles: Two trends to address for further energy management growth

With the COVID-19 pandemic sending the economy into recession, energy and resource use by US businesses and residential consumers are bound to be affected. We look at the Deloitte Resources 2020 Study—as well as historical data over the past nine years—to identify trends that offer a glimpse into the future of energy and resource management.

Introduction

With COVID-19 bringing about deep societal changes and sharply contracting economic activity, changes are likely in how US businesses and residential consumers manage their energy and resource use. While the specifics are not clear yet, the results of our Deloitte Resources 2020 Study (hereafter referred to as “the Study”) provide a glimpse into business and residential consumer attitudes toward key energy and climate issues at the onset of the global pandemic and recession.

Learn more

Download the summary or full report

Read 10 years of key business trends in energy management

Read Lasting COVID-19 impact on residential electricity self-sufficiency

Explore 10 years of consumer energy behavior

Go straight to smart. Get the Deloitte Insights app

The good news is that given the trends we’ve seen in Deloitte’s annual resources studies over the past 10 years—culminating with the 2020 survey—it appears likely that despite the current crisis, energy management progress is unlikely to recede too far for too long. While businesses and residential consumers are adjusting to a shock that may distract them from energy management in the short term, programs will likely continue to advance in the intermediate and longer term.

Consider these results from the Study:

  • Sixty-eight percent of residential consumers surveyed agree strongly or somewhat with the statement “I’m very concerned about climate change and my personal carbon footprint,” in line with survey results in previous years.
  • Nearly six in 10 businesses surveyed feel increased pressure from stakeholders to disclose and address climate risk and, of those, nearly nine in 10 have reviewed or changed their disclosure procedures and developed plans to address climate-related risks.
  • Sixty percent of businesses reported having onsite generation, up nearly 40 points compared with 10 years ago, and 44% have considered implementing a microgrid, up 9 points from 2019.
  • More than half (53%) of residential consumers surveyed said it’s extremely or very important that part of their electricity supply comes from renewable energy, revisiting a historic high among studies, and 51% of business respondents said they’re working to procure more electricity from renewables, up 4 points from 2019.
  • Sixty-five percent of residential consumers surveyed saw greater renewable energy development boosting the national economy, the highest level since the 2014 Study.
  • Fifty-two percent of business respondents are concerned about an interruption to their electricity supply due to a cybersecurity event on the electric grid and 37% of residential consumer respondents share this concern.
  • More than three-quarters (76%) of residential respondents said they’re more concerned about privacy and security as homes get more automated, a 15-point jump from the 2019 Study. And 46% said that concern could prevent them from buying smart home technologies.

To gain further perspective, we explore seven trends from the Study, split into three sections, which we call the Reinforcers, the Bellwethers, and the Hurdles.

The Reinforcers: Three key trends that support continued energy management progress

We identified three Reinforcers in the Study: rising consumer sentiment and stakeholder pressure on businesses to address climate change, the convergence of environmental and cost drivers, and the quest for greater resiliency and self-sufficiency.

Consumer sentiment and stakeholder pressure to address climate change are increasing. Businesses and consumers hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and recession may be moving climate change action to the back burner in the short term as they struggle to survive and thrive in a fast-changing global landscape. But strong consumer sentiment (figure 1) and increasing stakeholder pressure on businesses prior to the crisis, as well as evidence of continuing stakeholder concern and superior performance of environmental, social and governance (ESG)–minded companies,1 may indicate that environmental initiatives and programs will likely continue in the longer term.

Consumer concern about climate change is rising

Environmental and cost considerations increasingly go hand-in-hand. Cost cutting is typically the top reason for businesses and residential consumers to manage their energy use, but the desire to protect the environment and use cleaner energy sources has been gaining on it. In addition to growing public sentiment for cleaner energy sources, this could also be due to the falling cost of wind and solar power. Today, affordable and clean energy are far less likely to be mutually exclusive, especially for businesses. Many utilities, facing lower electricity demand during the pandemic, are dispatching wind and solar first, when available, due to their low marginal cost.2 The preference for cleaner energy sources will likely continue, and given their increasing affordability, usage may continue to grow even during a recession.

The quest intensifies for greater resiliency and self-sufficiency. Increasingly severe natural disasters and longer outages have motivated many electricity customers in the business and residential consumer segments to seek greater resiliency and explore options beyond their electricity providers in recent years. Growing interest in energy storage, onsite generation, and microgrids illustrate this trend. Some customers want more agency over their electricity supply and are increasingly taking matters into their own hands. Today, with more people working from home, the uncertainty of a global pandemic, and any natural disasters that may occur on top of that, this sentiment may grow. However, revenue and income loss during the recession could potentially limit available capital for expenditures in the short to medium term.

The Bellwethers: Two trends that may indicate future energy management momentum

Two trends have been strengthening throughout the decade and could be potential indicators of ongoing commitment to energy management: business success in creating value through energy management and accelerating renewable energy procurement.

Businesses have continued to ramp up programs and achieve success. Businesses have consistently raised resource management goals and met them, creating new value while managing resource use. About nine in 10 businesses reported setting goals to manage electricity and other resources in 2020, consistent with prior years. But the percentage setting formal goals has risen steadily, from about half in 2011 to 65% in 2020 (figure 2). Most of those goals are in electricity, with about 90% consistently reporting electricity savings goals. But the percentage reporting goals in other areas, such as natural gas, carbon emissions, and transport fuel consumption, has generally risen over the decade.

Not only are businesses setting goals across more resource areas, the goals are high. In 2020, 40%–50% of respondents are striving to cut 25% or more in each of the five resource areas mentioned above, and goals have crept higher among respondents each year. And in electricity, those aggressive goals are increasingly paying off, with a quarter of respondents reporting reductions of 30% or more in 2020.

Businesses are setting more formal goals across more resource areas

Renewable energy growth reflects strong momentum in resource management. One of the strongest reflections of momentum in resource management is the growing deployment of renewable energy. Business procurement has increased steadily, but while residential consumers have reported strong intent, their follow-through has been less robust due to concerns about cost and complexity. As the current crisis progresses, indicators of continued renewable adoption, such as the rising volume of corporate renewable power purchase agreements (PPAs), may be metrics to watch for continued momentum. We see evidence of renewable growth momentum in the 2020 survey as well, which suggests it will likely continue in the longer term, despite the pandemic and economic downturn.

The Hurdles: Two trends to address for further energy management growth

Finally, we explore two trends that represent issues energy and technology providers will likely need to address to help customers maintain energy management momentum: rising privacy and security concerns and the need for flexible, customized products and services.

Privacy and security concerns should be addressed to pave way for further technology adoption. Growing technology adoption is sowing concern for privacy and security in the business and residential consumer segments (figure 3). In some cases, this concern may hinder further technology adoption. With more people working from home and staying home during the COVID-19 pandemic, hackers are increasingly targeting home networks and seeking to break into personal and corporate systems.3 In addition, more than half (52%) of business respondents are concerned about a potential power interruption due to a cybersecurity event, and more than a third (37%) of residential consumer respondents share that concern. The rise in virtual work, education, and entertainment in the COVID-19 era may continue beyond the pandemic, so privacy and security will likely continue to be a growing concern.

Increasing concerns about privacy and security may impact smart home technology purchases

Electricity customers are seeking flexible, customized products and services. Whether it’s to cut costs, boost resiliency, or source cleaner energy, customers in the business and residential consumer segments are exploring options for products and services to help them manage their energy and resource use. Many are looking for a more flexible, customized experience, and if their providers can’t meet their needs, they may look elsewhere. In this increasingly uncertain era of global pandemic and recession, some of these needs may grow.

For more insights, read the full report, Deloitte Resources 2020 Study.

 

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank their Deloitte colleagues Stanley Porter, Christine LaCroix, Jaya Nagdeo, and Utham Ganesh for their contributions to this article, and Rithu Thomas and Soy Lee for their editorial and production support.

Cover image by: Traci Daberko

Endnotes
    1. Philipp Hildebrand et al., Sustainable investing: Resilience amid uncertainty, BlackRock, 2020, p. 4. View in article

    2. Brad Plumer, “In a first, renewable energy is poised to eclipse coal in U.S.,” New York Times, May 13, 2020. View in article

    3. Check Point Software Technologies, “Update: Coronavirus-themed domains 50% more likely to be malicious than other domains,” March 5, 2020. View in article

Show moreShow less

Topics in this article

Energy & Resources , Sustainability , Power & Utilities , Energy, Resources, & Industrials

Power & Utilities

The dynamics of global energy demand, supply, and infrastructure dependencies have undergone more change in recent years than at any time since the 1970s. Deloitte provides insights and services to help power and utilities companies navigate the challenges and opportunities in today’s environment. 

Learn more
Get in touch
Contact
  • Marlene Motyka
  • US and Global Renewable Energy leader, Principal
  • Deloitte Transactions and Business Analytics LLP
  • mmotyka@deloitte.com
  • +1 973 602 5691

Download Subscribe

Related content

img Trending

Navigating the energy transition from disruption to growth

Article 3 years ago
img Trending

Deloitte Resources 2018 Study

Article 5 years ago
img Trending

Renewables (em)power smart cities

Article 4 years ago

More on Power, utilities & renewables

  • A framework for the utility customer of the future Article3 years ago
  • Big-picture thinking on innovation in the retail power sector Article4 years ago
  • Global renewable energy trends Article5 years ago
  • 100 percent renewables—aspiration or destination? Article4 years ago
  • Energy-as-a-Service: The lights are on. Is anybody home? From Deloitte.com
  • The carbon-neutral utility Article6 years ago
Marlene Motyka

Marlene Motyka

US Renewable Energy Leader

Marlene is Deloitte’s US Renewable Energy leader and a principal in Deloitte Transactions and Business Analytics LLP. She consults on matters related to valuation, tax, M&A, financing, business strategy, and financial modeling for the power, utilities and renewable energy sectors. Marlene has been at Deloitte for more than 22 years and holds a Master of Business Administration in finance from Rutgers University and a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from Lehigh University.

  • mmotyka@deloitte.com
  • +1 973 602 5691
Jim Thomson

Jim Thomson

US Power, Utilities & Renewables leader

Jim serves as the vice chair, US Power, Utilities & Renewables leader, as well as a lead client service partner for Deloitte Consulting LLP. A consulting principal based in Tampa, Jim has more than 30 years of consulting experience working with global power, utility, and renewable energy clients. He is focused on delivering solutions to complex and critical challenges within the industry and brings a strong passion for making a difference with some of our largest power, utility, and renewable energy businesses and their customers.

  • jamthomson@deloitte.com
  • +1 813 230 3714
Kate Hardin

Kate Hardin

Executive director

Kate Hardin is an executive director at Deloitte Research Center for Energy and Industrials. With an experience of 25 years in the energy industry, Hardin leads Deloitte’s research team focused on the implications of the energy transition for the industrial, oil, gas, and power sectors. She has served as an alumni expert at Yale’s Center for Business and Environment and is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

  • khardin@deloitte.com
  • +1 617 437 3332
Suzanna Sanborn

Suzanna Sanborn

Senior research leader, Power, utilities & renewables

Suzanna is a senior manager in the Deloitte Center for Energy Solutions of Deloitte Services LP, analyzing global energy trends, with a focus on the power and utilities and renewable energy sectors. She has more than 20 years of experience in research, analysis, marketing, communications, and program management in the power and utilities, oil and gas, and renewable energy sectors.

  • ssanborn@deloitte.com
  • +1 703 251 1930

Share article highlights

See something interesting? Simply select text and choose how to share it:

Email a customized link that shows your highlighted text.
Copy a customized link that shows your highlighted text.
Copy your highlighted text.

Energy management: Paused by pandemic, but poised to prevail has been saved

Energy management: Paused by pandemic, but poised to prevail has been removed

An Article Titled Energy management: Paused by pandemic, but poised to prevail already exists in Saved items

 
Forgot password

To stay logged in, change your functional cookie settings.

OR

Social login not available on Microsoft Edge browser at this time.

Connect Accounts

Connect your social accounts

This is the first time you have logged in with a social network.

You have previously logged in with a different account. To link your accounts, please re-authenticate.

Log in with an existing social network:

To connect with your existing account, please enter your password:

OR

Log in with an existing site account:

To connect with your existing account, please enter your password:

Forgot password

Subscribe

to receive more business insights, analysis, and perspectives from Deloitte Insights
✓ Link copied to clipboard

Deloitte Insights delivers proprietary research designed to help organizations turn their aspirations into action.

Deloitte Insights

  • Home
  • Topics
  • Industries
  • About Deloitte Insights

Spotlight

  • Weekly Global Economic Outlook
  • Top 10 Reading Guide
  • Fostering Well-Being
  • Cyber Risk
  • Resilience
Deloitte logo

Learn about Deloitte’s offerings, people, and culture as a global provider of audit, assurance, consulting, financial advisory, risk advisory, tax, and related services.

  • Privacy
  • Terms of Use
  • Cookies
  • Avature Privacy