Dive Brief:

The parent company of Southern California Edison has launched a new business venture aimed at providing "energy as a service" to the largest consumers of power – many of whom do not accurately understand how much they spend, the company said in a statement.

Edison International yesterday launched Irvine, Calif.-based Edison Energy to " focus on meeting the energy needs of the largest users of energy nationwide."

The new consultancy will target clients looking to help major power consumers lower costs in managing their entire energy portfolio, reduce complexity, and deliver on sustainability objectives.

Alongside the company announcement, Edison released a white paper called "The New Energy Future – Challenges and Opportunities in Corporate Energy Management." Among the findings: 25% of companies do not accurately understand their total energy spend, and 94% believe there are remaining opportunities for them to save.

Dive Insight:

Someone had to be first.

Talk of energy as a service and utilities as trusted providers has been growing for some time, so Edison International's decision to wade into the field was all but inevitable. As the New York Times puts it, the company's move is "among the first major forays of a utility into energy management services."

“Edison International has a long history of leading the way in innovative solutions to energy challenges, both through our regulated businesses and our experience in competitive markets,” said Ted Craver, chairman and CEO Edison International in a statement. “Large energy users increasingly need a strategic partner to help them navigate through the diverse energy marketplace."

The new company aims enable large commercial and industrial energy users "to explore the many options available to them and to select the best portfolio of alternatives to power their operations," Craver said.

Edison Energy has made recent "strategic acquisitions in energy consulting, efficiency and engineering, energy procurement and data analytics," the company said, and already serves one in four of the FORTUNE 50 companies and employs more than 200 people.

“Our existing client base illustrates the strong foundation of Edison Energy and the future opportunity to make ‘Energy-as-a-Service’ a reality for the nation’s largest users of energy,” said Allan Schurr, president of Edison Energy.

Alongside the announcement, Edison released a white paper detailing some of its research into the "energy as a service" space.

"Most energy managers believe that the vendors and providers in the current energy services space aren’t capable of providing guidance on the full spectrum of challenges and solutions relevant to large organizations," the company found. More than 40% of companies surveyed cited the "lack of a credible partner as a major barrier to new investments in energy," Edison said.