INDUSTRY
Energy & Utilities
Utilities, grid operators and energy producers investing heavily while keeping bills and reliability in check.
Engagements since 2021
Capital plans reviewed in the last three years
Average fall in unplanned outages on our asset programs
OVERVIEW
We work with power, gas and water utilities, grid operators and energy producers on capital planning, asset performance, digital operations and the economics of the energy transition.
Energy companies are being asked to do something no previous generation of managers has done: roughly double their capital investment while keeping bills affordable and reliability high. That puts a premium on spending capital well and running existing assets for longer.
Our energy practice works with transmission and distribution operators, integrated utilities, water companies and energy producers in Europe, North America and Southeast Asia. We help them prioritize capital, move maintenance from fixed schedules to condition and risk, and build the data and AI tools that make that possible. We also advise boards on portfolio choices as the generation mix shifts.
WHAT IS SHIFTING
01
Grid investment is at a generational high
Connecting renewables and new demand requires capital programs two to three times historical levels, and regulators are scrutinizing every dollar.
01
Aging assets meet rising expectations
Much of the network was built forty or more years ago. Maintaining it on fixed schedules is too expensive, and running it to failure is unacceptable.
01
Affordability is a political issue
Customer bills are under public scrutiny, which puts pressure on operating cost even as investment rises.
01
Workforces are retiring faster than they are replaced
Experienced field engineers are leaving, taking knowledge with them. Digital tools and better planning have to fill part of the gap.
“We had run three analytics pilots before. This was the first time the crews asked for the model's list before they planned their week.”
Head of Asset Management, A transmission and distribution operator in Southeast Asia
SERVICES
All services
Webinar: scenario planning for the 2027 board calendar
scenario-planning-2027-webinar
Event
Elena Marsh and Priya Raman
A one-hour online briefing for directors and executives on building scenarios, triggers and prepared moves into the board's regular cycle.
Scenario planning that boards will actually use
scenario-planning-for-boards
Article
Elena Marsh and Thomas Reid
Most board scenario exercises produce a thick report and no decisions. A lighter approach, tied to triggers and pre-agreed moves, makes them useful.
Making cost savings last: a breakfast roundtable for CFOs
making-cost-savings-last-roundtable
Event
David Okafor and Hannah Cole
A closed-door breakfast in London for finance leaders planning their next cost program, built on the findings of The CFO Cost Agenda 2026.
Operations AI Benchmark 2026: from pilots to the P&L
operations-ai-benchmark-2026
Report
Marcus Lindqvist and Priya Raman
How 286 operations leaders are using AI in maintenance, planning and quality, how much of it reaches production, and what the companies seeing returns do differently.
Zero-based organization design, done properly
zero-based-organization-design
Article
Hannah Cole
Designing an organization from a blank page sounds radical. Done well, it is the most practical way to remove layers and duplication without starting a political war.
The first 100 days after a merger
first-100-days-after-a-merger
Article
Lukas Brenner and Amara Nwosu
The first hundred days after closing set the pace for everything that follows. What to settle before day one, what to do quickly, and what to leave alone.
The CFO Cost Agenda 2026: why savings fade and what keeps them
cfo-cost-agenda-2026
Report
Thomas Reid and David Okafor
A survey of 412 chief financial officers on cost programs, how much of the savings survive, and the practices that separate durable results from temporary ones.
Making AI pay back in operations, not in pilots
making-ai-pay-back-in-operations
Article
Marcus Lindqvist and Kenji Watanabe
Most operations AI never leaves the pilot stage. The few use cases that pay back share a set of traits that have little to do with the model itself.
Pricing power after the inflation years
pricing-power-after-inflation
Article
Elena Marsh and Priya Raman
Companies raised prices faster than costs between 2021 and 2024. Customers remember. How to set prices now that the cover of general inflation is gone.
Why cost programs fail in year two
why-cost-programs-fail-in-year-two
Article
David Okafor and Thomas Reid
Most cost programs hit their first-year targets. The savings disappear in the second year, for reasons that are predictable and largely avoidable.