Dutch Utility Bets Its Future on an Unusual Strategy: Selling Less Power
Through acquisitions (including of Quby), by nurturing a cluster of start-ups
and with other initiatives, Eneco has sought to provide new services to customers — and, in doing so, to enter new sectors, like the charging of electric vehicles and the repair of solar panels.
“We said ‘we have to create an increasing customer loyalty by doing something different,’” said Hans Valk, chief executive of Quby
and formerly the leader of Eneco’s consumer business.
“They wanted to keep it,” said Tako in ’t Veld, a former Eneco executive who now
leads the “smart energy” unit at Quby, the company that makes the energy meter.
In recent years, large volumes of wind and solar-generated electricity have undermined the economics of traditional power plants
and provided the outlines of a future in which conventional power plants no longer supply the bulk of a home’s electricity.
When Eneco first considered the test, the utility was locked in a profit-zapping battle with competitors, cutting prices for electric power
and natural gas while giving customers gifts for signing up.
