Technology's role in our changing industry [electricity supply industry]

This article outlines American Electric Power's (AEP) perspective of the future utility company and the main competitive forces impacting that future, as well as AEP's business strategy. It also emphasizes the importance of technology in shaping that future for the energy delivery business. Electricity is a growth industry, both in absolute usage as well as in percentage of total energy consumption. Various reputable research organizations have projected that the world electricity demand will increase fourfold within the next half century. In the United States, electricity as a percentage of energy consumption will increase from the current 37 percent to perhaps as much as 60 percent in the same time frame. The primary reason for this growth is the fact that electricity is the most refined and controllable of all energy forms. The future landscape of the energy business is changing at an accelerated pace. When it settles down, in perhaps five to ten years, there will likely remain a diversity of competitors which include large national/international energy providers, a number of integrated BTU companies, regional energy providers as well as a variety of niche players. While each competitor will pursue its own strategy, the winners will share some common attributes. They will be competent, but more than competent, they will be highly innovative. They will be visionary with a focus on things they do very well. They will be aggressive in capitalizing on their strengths. These companies will be ethical because good ethics is good business. In other words, they will be strategically savvy.