Emerging platform business models among the European electric utilities

The European energy sector is under a rapid change in business models due to the energy and digital transformations. The implications of these transformations are emerging platform business models among electric utilities and emerging electricity value chain in the energy sector. The study of platform business models among electric utilities is important, because they integrate the sector’s value chain and determine the transformations of the energy sector. In this paper, the current platform business models managed by electric utilities are analysed empirically and theoretically. The analysis covers 26 European electric utilities. The analysis aims to identify the classes of the platform business models for electric utilities. As a result, 28 digital platforms are identified and grouped into 9 business model classes. This paper examines how the electric utilities have employed novel business models. It provides evidence that, in the face of energy and digital transformations, the electric utilities are the key players in digital platform implementation in Europe.