As the energy landscape continues to shift, utilities are finding themselves transforming. The traditional utility-customer relationship, typically an exchange of electricity for payment, is evolving into something much more dynamic.

Jaspreet Singh, executive vice president of advanced technology and chief innovation officer at OATI, described this shift at the OATI Energy Conference in Las Vegas.

“The energy transition is creating very interesting challenges for the utility as well as the customers,” Singh observes. He argues that customers are no longer just consumers of energy – many are becoming “prosumers,” actively generating energy through solar panels, storing it in batteries, and participating in grid operations. “Utilities are looking at their customers not just as the ones they are providing service to, but also as the ones they can get services from,” Singh asserts.

Singh believes in the importance of getting prosumers participating in the grid in an effort to improve efficiency and resilience.

“Utilities need to make systems available for consumers and prosumers so they can participate in programs that help the utility, while also receiving performance incentives and becoming part of the solution,” he said.

Utilities now need configurable and scalable tools to meet their growing and diverse needs. Singh recalled an example involving New York’s Con Edison: when Con Edison approached OATI to develop an aggregator portal, the company prioritized seamless integration with the utility’s brand.

“It was very clear that the Con Ed brand had to follow from A to Z in the customer journey,” Singh recalled. The end result, he says, was a portal that delivered a consistent user experience while enabling customer onboarding and participation.

As a technology company, OATI has the challenge of delicately weighing the balance between innovation and reliability. “There has to be a right mix of new technology and proven technology,” Singh suggests. This includes introducing new tools like AI and machine learning to help utilities meet their goals, while still maintaining systems that operators trust and understand.

“With so many systems in place and heterogeneous OEMs putting different standards in the market, the main thing OATI prides itself on is our integration capabilities. We bring a lot of systems together onto a single pane of glass, so operators can make decisions quickly and effectively,” he added.

As the energy transition continues to accelerate, utilities are at a pivotal moment. The industry’s future relies on its ability to embrace prosumers, introduce new and diverse technologies, and provide tools that are both advanced and user-friendly. For Singh and OATI, the focus is still clear: helping utilities meet the challenge of a quickly evolving energy landscape.

“The customer journey needs to be seamless, innovative, and impactful—all while maintaining the reliability and trust utilities have built over decades,” Singh said.

The once static utility-customer relationship is now a dynamic one, and as Singh’s reflections at the OATI Energy Conference show, this partnership will shape tomorrow’s energy systems.