The lack of energy is on everyone's lips. Sweden only has 20 years to secure the electricity supply and switch to fossil-free. To be able to deliver more and cope with all the new cases this entails, the electricity companies are increasingly collaborating with various external partners.
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But the energy companies' supply resources could be utilized much better.

A perfect storm: rampant electricity demand and high customer expectations

Sweden may need 310 TWh in 2045, which is 120 percent more than today's level according to the energy companies. The pressure on energy companies increases every day. Newly built server halls and charging stations for electric cars are crying out for electricity, and the Swedish steel industry's investment in fossil-free steel production will require large quantities. In addition, electricity from new energy sources such as solar panels and wind turbines must be distributed.

In addition, today's digitized customers expect a significantly higher level of service than before. This does not only apply to private customers, but also to a great extent to business customers - To attract the major employers to their region, one must be able to guarantee sufficient capacity and a good customer experience.

This of course means more work for those responsible for the energy grids, not least a plethora of new types of cases and work orders, increased complexity and thus more that can go wrong.

Dependence on external resources

Many regional and local grids are already balancing on the verge of overload. The Swedish power grid lines are among the oldest in the world - parts of the grid are upwards of 80 years old (source: WSP).

The maintenance, expansions and improved customer experiences require a significant amount of work. The only question is by whom.

There is an increasing need for recruitment in the industry and experienced technicians and engineers with energy competence are in short supply. Competition for qualified labour has intensified. Many times, the need is also both temporary and grant-based - such as connecting a new residential area with solar panels on the roof.

In many cases, the energy companies' solution is to hire various external local contractors and subcontractors. The work is performed by a so-called blended workforce, which brings new challenges.

Own bubbles can become a mess

In a mixed workforce, it is common for each team, professional group and company to work a bit in their own way and in their own "bubble". They do not always have access to common and clear information about each case. This is not effective as it can lead to sub-optimization, misunderstandings and poorly coordinated efforts that ultimately hurt the customers.

After all, a case - if it involves replacing an electricity meter or changing the main fuse - is often handled by several different people in different positions and sometimes from different organizations and companies.

Internally, the energy company has permanent employees, temps, sick temps - everything from customer service staff, salespeople, and preparers to service technicians. Then we have the external administrators and technicians who in many cases perform the physical work in the field and who are employed by contractors and partners. It is enough for a single link in the chain to break for it to have consequences for the others, including the customer.

When those handling the cases use different systems, and those systems are not up to date with the latest information, trouble is brewing. Orders get stuck on the road, technicians do not bring the right equipment and must make return visits, the customer is not prepared for the visit.

The customer may also not know who the contractor is sending out and whether the person who receives the assignment is the best suited. Or afterwards, what was done, whether it followed the agreement or how long it took.

Ultimately, this means that each case requires an unnecessary amount of time and resources. In the worst case, also dissatisfied customers.

The good news is that this is fixable.

Get the collaboration in order

To make better use of its resources and ensure quality in its case management, the electricity company needs:

Give all actors involved access to correct and up-to-date information, including the customer.
Automate administration, for example scheduling, ordering and follow-up.
Reduce personal dependence with clearly defined roles and work processes.
Measure, evaluate and improve the work continuously.
Use a central case management platform that integrates all systems and syncs information about cases and their status.
Digitize the collaboration with your contractors so that all orders are linked to cases and thus make it possible to continuously monitor how the work is progressing in the field.