Majors see opportunity in utility fragmentation

PWC sees value for IOCs as the traditional utility model becomes less relevant

International oil companies (IOCs) returning to the utility business has been a clearly observable trend over several years, with the European headquartered majors at the forefront. Shell's installed generating capacity in North America is now above 10GW, of which one-third is from renewable sources, and it has also invested in Dutch offshore wind. In the UK, its acquisition of supplier First Utility sees it supplying 100pc renewable power, as well as gas and energy services, to domestic consumers, while, through MP2 Energy, it has also entered the US supply market. Shell has also bought into US and Asian solar, while it has made three investments in electric vehicle (EV) charging firms and