There are two ways to look at resiliency in terms of the energy sector, the “bigger-picture” definition is a business’ ability to react to change. In the face of this unprecedented event that is COVID-19, with impacted industries, the need for accelerating technology, innovation, and change in broader market landscape or politics, is your business able to last through it and thrive?
Another way to look at resiliency is in terms of business continuity in reaction to climate change. Reacting to natural disasters, hurricanes, flooding, earthquakes, landslides, and rising sea levels are particularly important for businesses whose critical services rely on 24/7 energy reliability. These natural events do not take a pause due to a pandemic.
To ensure energy resilience, a lot of power companies are embracing energy storage and renewable sources. The less reliant on the traditional nonrenewable energy resources, the more able it is to be resilient in the face of natural disasters or unforeseen issues with supply.
Companies that proactively embrace renewable energy sources like solar and wind are in a position to use this as a strategic lever to create business opportunities. For example, these businesses can make a point of being open when a storm or blackout forces others to shut down. That serves a role in their communities because they are then able to provide a safe space, supplies, and services when people are without electricity. But, most importantly it is also a business opportunity, being the company that has power on during an outage.
The call for resiliency in energy is more important now than ever. With the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic being felt globally, there is a great deal of uncertainty in terms of consumers’ livelihoods and what the future of many industries may look like in the coming months.
In parallel to that, there are also a lot more ways to do something about these threats. There was no way to get electricity without the grid in the past, without relying on expensive backup generators. But new technologies like solar and energy storage are increasingly providing alternatives that can align with a resilience strategy. Also, technologies like big data analytics can help identify trends that could be costing money and solutions to resolve them.
With a resilience plan, the supply chain is protected from sudden changes to the number of energy resources available, geopolitical concerns affecting pricing and regulations, and so on. Resilience, for many energy companies, can mean protecting the supply chain for your core product.
The risks associated with ignoring resiliency include possible disruptions to service, there’s also the broader risk that you’re exposed to market forces that you aren’t prepared for, that could seriously affect your financial performance.
