Dive Brief:

• Comverge and EnerNOC have “gotten a jump on the competition,” say analysts at Navigant, and currently lead the quickly-evolving demand response landscape in many respects, including strategy and execution.
• But the firm also said larger and more-integrated companies are gaining ground, hinting at the growth possibilities in the space as well as the regional and international expansions available.
• Navigant cited “market liberalization,” economic pressure on utilities and emissions regulations as factors pushing power providers to increasingly incorporate demand response into their portfolios.

Dive Insight:

Navigant has published a new “Leaderboard Report” examining a variety of factors in the demand response market before ultimately placing two familiar names at the top of providers.

“Comverge and EnerNOC have gotten a jump on the competition through early market entry, strong market and customer relationships, and the ability to adapt and find new market opportunities,” Brett Feldman, senior research analyst with Navigant Research, said in a statement introducing the research.

While Feldman said the two companies, both specializing in demand response, are the current industry leaders he also expects that competition could shake up the list. “Larger and more-integrated companies are starting to catch up, and many of the companies currently at the lower end of this Leaderboard represent new DR technologies and business models that may hint at the future growth of the industry,” he said.

Navigant's top-10 looks like this:

1. Comverge
2. EnerNOC
3. Honeywell
4. Schneider Electric
5. Eaton
6. CPower
7. Direct Energy
8. Johnson Controls
9. Siemens
10. Opower

Navigant said it evaluated companies on these criteria: vision, go-to-market strategy, partners, technology, geographic reach, sales, marketing, and distribution, product performance, product portfolio, pricing, and staying power.

While the demand response market has matured in the U.S., Navigant said it is now expanding into other regions including Europe, where several countries are developing energy markets to allow demand response. And as demand response evolves from direct control programs utilities have used for years, towards a third-party provider model, a global market could open up tremendous opportunities.

In Asia Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea have active demand response programs, Navigant points out, while Japan and China are “piloting DR projects and expect to expand DR’s role in their markets in the next few years.”