Egils Trumpe, Head of the Residential Department at “Ignitis Latvija”

The electricity market is undergoing the greatest transformation in customer relations since electricity first entered households. That’s a bold statement, but it’s well-founded. Just a few years ago, the relationship between an electricity supplier and a customer was one of the simplest in the economy. Electricity was supplied, the customer consumed it, received a bill once a month, and paid it. Usually, they even read and submitted their meter readings. The depth of the customer relationship in this sector was essentially limited to service availability and price. These were linear, even primitive, “supply-and-payment” relationships. In certain utility sectors, this model still persists.

Furthermore, with the expansion of renewable energy, fluctuations in electricity prices have become particularly significant, because at times when it is generated by solar, wind, or hydroelectric power plants, it is cheap; therefore, it is important that it be consumed wisely or stored in energy storage systems at those times. Experts know that green electricity is the cheapest when consumed properly.

Consequently, this primitive era in the electricity sector is rapidly coming to an end, and we are seeing the emergence of smart electricity consumption habits in society and a completely new format for customer service—and by that I don’t mean customer service centers where you pay your bill at a counter. Rather, I’m referring to a service that provides digital and intuitive tools for complete control over one’s personal energy management.

The technological revolution is creating an entirely new reality

Perhaps unexpectedly, Latvia is one of the most advanced countries in Europe in this area. Approximately 99% of households are equipped with smart electricity meters. This means that electricity consumption can be analyzed with a level of precision that was unimaginable just a short time ago.

But smart meters are just the beginning. Change is driven by the simultaneous development of several technologies—continuous data connectivity, mobile apps, cloud computing, smart home technologies, automation, and the increasingly widespread use of artificial intelligence. Together, these technologies form a completely new energy management ecosystem.

Most importantly, for the first time, electricity consumption has become visible, understandable, and manageable. People can understand not only how much electricity they use in a month, but also when, how, and where it is consumed, especially now that, since February of this year, electricity consumption data has been recorded every 15 minutes. Meanwhile, digital solutions and artificial intelligence are increasingly able to help make the most cost-effective decisions or even automate them.

This fundamentally changes the nature of the customer-service provider relationship itself. Whereas in the past an energy company could only see total monthly consumption, today it is possible to create services that help customers use energy more wisely, efficiently, and cost-effectively on a daily basis. This is precisely where a new customer relationship model emerges, one that enables the creation of new value that was simply not possible before.

From Passive Consumer to Active Energy Manager

Apps and digital solutions have become the bridge between data and real value for the customer. For example, the “Ignitis” mobile app allows users to track their consumption, analyze costs, understand their energy usage habits, and make more cost-effective decisions. This may seem simple, but in reality, it represents a significant paradigm shift. People are no longer just electricity consumers; they are becoming managers of their own energy households.

Customer behavior confirms that this demand exists. More than 90% of “Ignitis” residential customers have downloaded the app. At least two-thirds use it at least once a month, while more than 30% of customers use the app every week. Some customers even use it every day! These aren’t just metrics of digital activity. They show that people want to be more involved in making their own energy decisions, as long as they have access to simple and easy-to-understand tools.

This is also confirmed by the popularity of our “Personalized Rates”. People’s lifestyles vary, and it’s becoming less and less reasonable to assume that one solution fits all. That’s why solutions that allow people to tailor their electricity usage to specific habits and daily routines are becoming increasingly important—for example, for homes heated with heat pumps, or families that drive electric cars or consume the most electricity in the mornings, as they go about their daily routines, and in the evenings when they return home. The more precisely an energy solution aligns with a customer’s lifestyle, the greater the value it can deliver.

The electrified home is becoming a unified system

The pace of change will accelerate even further with the widespread adoption and interconnectivity of electric vehicles, solar panels, batteries, and heat pumps. In the past, energy flowed in only one direction—from the grid to the home. Today, more and more households are both consumers and producers at the same time. Solar panels generate electricity, electric cars store it, and smart systems choose the most cost-effective time for charging or consumption.

More and more often, these processes happen automatically—or at least we know they can be automated. The energy generated by solar panels can be directed toward charging an electric car, powering a heat pump, or meeting other needs at the exact moment when it is most cost-effective. The customer does not have to constantly monitor prices or perform manual calculations—the technology does it for them.

The Paradox of Complexity and Simplicity

Herein lies a seemingly paradoxical situation. On the one hand, households are becoming increasingly complex—they feature solar panels, electric cars, batteries, heat pumps, and dozens of interconnected devices. It seems as though our lives are becoming increasingly complicated and demand constant attention and management.

However, the reality may be exactly the opposite—advances in technology, automation, and artificial intelligence allow this complexity to be hidden behind an increasingly simple user experience. In the future, people will have to monitor electricity prices, calculate the optimal charging time, or decide when to turn on a specific device less and less often. The system will be able to do this on its own.

The biggest changes are still ahead

In fact, we are currently seeing only the beginning of this transformation. In the coming years, households will become increasingly electrified and technologically “connected.” Electric cars, solar panels, energy storage solutions, heat pumps, and other devices will all operate within a single integrated system. Effective management of such households will be nearly impossible without digital tools.

The future of the electricity sector is not a story of greater complexity. It is a story of how technology, data, and artificial intelligence hide this complexity, allowing people to live simpler, more convenient, more cost-effective, and more environmentally friendly lives. An industry that we viewed for years as a simple utility service is now becoming one of the most dynamic parts of the digital economy.