Procuring electricity and natural gas can be complex. Large enterprises and government agencies are requiring more than just electricity from their providers; they are changing their procurement requirements to include resilient energy supply to ensure they can continue to operate without the grid. Concerns over continuity of operations, sustainability goals, regulatory compliance, severe weather events and rising energy costs are redefining the relationship between energy providers and their customers. The traditional Energy-as-a-Commodity (EaaC) business model is being challenged with cost-competitive onsite generation from secure and resilient energy systems.

Under the EaaC business model, everyone – residential, small business, government and large business customers – purchases their electricity from the utility or through a broker. Electricity is delivered by the regulated utility via the grid. Outside of time-of-day cost differences, customers have little or no control over their energy costs. And when service from the grid is interrupted, customers lose power.

The Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) model gives medium and large energy consumers a modern option in how they sustain operations regardless of grid operations, by moving the electricity generation onsite in customized designs that are modern and robust.

EaaS supports a national customer trend toward in-house and expertise-driven energy management, which improves integration with distributed generation and energy storage assets, management of the energy load and interaction with the grid. Most importantly, EaaS allows customers the flexibility to make choices regarding:
     • Diversification of their energy portfolio
     • Environmental impact of their energy use
     • Ownership and scalability of energy generation assets
     • Dependence on the grid and/or their own distributed generation assets
     • Redundancy and resiliency
     • Pricing and financing
     • Bill issuance and consolidation

WGL Energy Systems (WGL Energy) recently revealed the Resilient Energy Supply Node (RESNode), an EaaS solution designed to provide the U.S. Department of Defense with greater flexibility in securing highly dependable, cyber secure and grid independent electricity generation. RESNode is designed to perform as a behind-the-meter generation system capable of supplying mission-critical power for up to three weeks.

RESNode systems are vetted, pre-configured and modular – allowing for shorter lead times and ready access to continuous power from a decentralized system. RESNode systems are scalable and cost-effective, and are available in two output options – 250kW and 750 kW. Installations are funded by offsetting payments to the grid.

For more information on EaaS or WGL Energy’s RESNode solution, please contact Chris Mathey at Christoper.Mathey@WGLEnergy.com.