A new Platts/Capgemini study of senior executives at U.S. and Canadian utility companies finds that the most important issues facing the energy industry today are regulation, infrastructure investments and managing the risk associated with commodity price fluctuations.

“This study brings to the forefront the diverse and critical issues facing utilities’ leadership today,” said Victoria Pao, president, Platts. “A complex, ever changing regulatory environment, coupled with volatile commodity will require that the industry is more nimble than ever before in managing risk and seizing opportunities.”

Through more than 100 interviews with chief executive officers, presidents and senior–level executives, the Platts/Capgemini Utilities Executive Study identified and prioritized current industry issues, assessing opinions about the future of the energy industry and measuring the steps utility companies are taking to prepare for the future.

The utility executives’ predictions for the future include increased reliance on information management, continued focus on workforce management issues and increased use of renewable energy. They believe their companies’ risk management function will increase significantly in coming years.

Study results also indicated that over the next five years utilities will increasingly use outsourcing for inventory management, call center, billing and information technology business processes, but will continue to manage outage management, trading, generation, transmission or distribution operations.

“This study verifies that top executives are becoming laser–focused on their core businesses and are considering outsourcing for their day–to–day operations,” said Amin Bishara, vice president, global outsourcing utility sector, Capgemini. “Utilities are just now growing comfortable with letting another organization manage its customers, a key historic concern of most utilities. It’s not surprising that executives want to hold on to functions that are closer to their core business.”

Executives indicated that companies will increase their reliance on technology, including smart grid, smart meter and information management over the next five to 10 years.

“Utility companies are beginning to connect the dots between their need for the most robust information technology and the ability of their organization to manage all the risks they face Concerns for risk should not be limited to operational risks for generation and transmission, but should also include risks associated with customer relationship management or inefficient inventory management,” Bishara added.