Industry Spotlight: Power & Utilities—Modernizing Trading and Risk for Renewables Integration

The New Imperative: Digital Transformation for Power & Utilities

The global energy landscape is in the midst of a profound transformation. For power and utilities companies, the integration of renewables, grid modernization, and evolving regulatory pressures are redefining the rules of engagement. As organizations strive to meet ambitious decarbonization targets and respond to market volatility, the need for agile, data-driven trading and risk management has never been greater.

Yet, many utilities still rely on legacy Energy Trading and Risk Management (ETRM) systems, manual processes, and siloed data. These outdated approaches hinder the ability to optimize portfolios, manage risk, and capitalize on new opportunities in renewables and distributed energy resources. The path forward is clear: embrace a unified, digital ecosystem that leverages automation, advanced analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI) to unlock next-generation capabilities.

Sector-Specific Challenges in the Renewables Era

Power and utilities organizations face a unique set of challenges as they modernize trading and risk management for a renewables-centric future:

Certificate Management: The proliferation of renewable energy certificates (RECs), guarantees of origin, and carbon credits requires robust, centralized systems to track, validate, and monetize these assets across jurisdictions.
Battery and Asset Optimization: The rise of grid-scale batteries and flexible assets demands real-time optimization models to maximize value from storage, arbitrage, and ancillary services.
Regulatory Reporting: New market designs and evolving compliance requirements—especially for renewables and emissions—necessitate automated, auditable reporting frameworks that can adapt to changing rules.
Portfolio Complexity: Integrating wind, solar, storage, and traditional generation across multiple geographies and currencies increases the complexity of risk management and forecasting.
Operational Efficiency: Manual interventions in deal capture, scheduling, settlement, and reconciliation increase the risk of errors and limit the ability to scale operations as renewables grow.

The Digital Ecosystem Advantage

Modernizing trading and risk management starts with breaking down data silos and creating a connected digital ecosystem. By integrating trading, risk, operations, and compliance data into a unified platform, utilities can:

Gain Agility: Respond to market changes and regulatory shifts in real time, enabling rapid decision-making and portfolio adjustments.
Enhance Collaboration: Foster seamless information sharing across front, middle, and back office, as well as with external partners and counterparties.
Achieve End-to-End Visibility: Monitor assets, contracts, exposures, and sustainability metrics across the entire value chain.
Drive Innovation: Leverage AI and advanced analytics for demand forecasting, price simulation, battery optimization, and scenario analysis.
Automate for Efficiency: Streamline trade lifecycle management, automate settlements and reporting, and free up teams for higher-value activities.

AI and Automation: Unlocking Next-Generation Capabilities

The integration of AI and automation into ETRM platforms is a game-changer for utilities. Key use cases include:

Front Office: AI-driven demand and price forecasting, market simulation, schedule generation, and regulatory impact analysis.
Middle Office: Automated credit scoring, contract review and generation, risk policy monitoring, and hedging recommendations.
Back Office: Automated reconciliation, invoice matching, regulatory reporting, and management dashboards.
Certificate Management: Centralized tracking and validation of RECs and carbon credits, supporting both compliance and monetization.
Battery Optimization: Real-time models to maximize storage value, manage congestion, and support grid stability.

Real-World Impact: Case Studies in Power & Utilities Transformation

Standardizing ETRM for Renewables Integration

A global multinational energy company—one of the world’s largest offshore wind power generators—set a goal to be climate-neutral by 2040, backed by a €55 billion investment in renewables. Facing a fragmented landscape of systems and processes, the company partnered with Publicis Sapient and Microsoft to standardize its trading and risk management for renewable assets.

The solution:

Implemented a unified ETRM platform (ENDUR) to support both physical and financial trading across North America and beyond.
Developed a centralized certificate management capability, streamlining the handling of RECs and other certificates.
Automated settlement and invoicing, reducing manual effort and errors.
Established advanced optimization models for congestion, day-ahead, and battery trading, resulting in a significant increase in trading P&L.
Launched a phased integration roadmap to enable rapid deployment of critical risk management controls.

The impact:

Streamlined and standardized business processes across front, middle, and back offices.
Enhanced operational efficiency and auditability.
Improved risk visibility and enabled better decision-making for renewables trading.

Consolidating Trading Platforms for Integrated Power & Gas

A North American power and gas company, active in both wholesale and retail markets, needed to modernize its ETRM landscape following a period of growth and acquisitions. Publicis Sapient designed and implemented a consolidated platform that:

Integrated exchanges, pricing systems, ISOs, and ERP systems.
Increased automation across the transaction lifecycle, replacing manual spreadsheets.
Enhanced data migration and quality, supporting consistent reporting of complex positions.
Managed renewable identification numbers, power purchase agreements, and derivatives in a single view.

The results:

Improved operational efficiency and forecasting accuracy.
Reduced margin leakage and improved customer analytics.
Enabled better decision-making and robust internal controls.

A Practical Roadmap for Utilities

To thrive in the renewables era, utilities should:

Unify Data Across the Value Chain: Migrate from legacy, on-premise systems to cloud-based platforms that centralize trading, risk, and operational data.
Automate and Streamline Processes: Replace manual workflows with automated, user-friendly solutions that reduce errors and free up teams for value-added activities.
Empower Business Users: Provide self-serve analytics and real-time dashboards for decision support.
Align Teams Around Shared Outcomes: Break down silos by aligning incentives and KPIs across trading, risk, operations, and sustainability.
Iterate and Scale: Start with high-impact use cases, deliver minimum viable products quickly, and scale successful solutions across the organization.

Why Publicis Sapient?

With decades of experience in energy and utilities, Publicis Sapient is uniquely positioned to guide organizations through large-scale, cross-functional transformation. Our SPEED capabilities—Strategy, Product, Experience, Engineering, and Data & AI—ensure that every solution is tailored to your needs and delivers measurable business outcomes. In partnership with Microsoft, we bring together deep industry knowledge, digital transformation expertise, and leading cloud and AI technologies.

Ready to Lead the Next Wave of Utilities Transformation?

The future of power and utilities trading and risk management is digital, data-driven, and agile. By embracing unified analytics, automation, and cloud-native platforms, utilities can not only navigate volatility but seize new opportunities for growth and sustainability. Connect with Publicis Sapient’s experts to discover how we can help you modernize your trading and risk operations—and thrive in the new energy era.

Contact us at energyandcommodities@publicissapient.com to start your transformation journey.

Publicis Sapient is a digital business transformation partner helping established organizations get to their future, digitally-enabled state. Learn more at publicissapient.com.