Dive Brief:
- The U.S. electric utility industry faces on ongoing period of low sales growth and that will be a challenge to their traditional operating profiles and will force them to broaden their product offerings, global ratings agency Fitch said Friday.
- In its report, "Power Down II: Efficiency Gains Short Circuit kWh Sales," Fitch said energy efficiency gains, demand-side management programs and distributed generation have cut electricity consumption and that utilities will have to make them product offerings to succeed.
Dive Insight:
Fitch noted that the economic recovery since 2009 has done little for electricity sales nationwide. It cites Energy Information Administration estimates that retail sales will grow an anemic 0.7% annually through 2040, with most growth occurring in the Southeast and Southwest.