SAP's New Platform Simplifies Decentralized Energy Management for Utilities
Built on the SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP), SAP Distributed Energy Resources (SAP DER) provides a reliable data backbone. The solution links technical asset data with commercial agreements and orchestrates millions of prosumer devices into coordinated services.
From energy sharing and dynamic pricing to cloud-native, interoperable flexibility markets, SAP DER connects meters, markets, and customers to enable business models such as energy communities, virtual power plants, and demand response. Combined with a carefully selected network of specialized technology partners, SAP empowers utilities to independently shape their energy transition.
Data is the backbone of the energy transition—but managing it is becoming increasingly difficult
The energy transition is reshaping the power landscape. The energy market is evolving as utilities shift away from centralized generation toward a supply system powered by millions of decentralized assets—solar panels, EV charging stations, heat pumps, and battery storage systems operated by consumers and prosumers. The number of connected devices is growing rapidly, generating vast amounts of operational, commercial, and customer data. Reliably and consistently managing this data is one of the central challenges of the coming energy decade.
At the same time, digital energy platforms and new market players are taking over customer relationships, offering integrated solutions that combine connectivity, flexibility, and billing under one roof. Utilities that fail to act now risk being reduced to mere commodity suppliers.
To fully unlock the potential of decentralized energy sources, utilities need more than just connectivity—they need data orchestration. This means harmonizing all information from processes, partners, and devices into a single, reliable, and intelligent data foundation, ensuring they can build their energy transition expertise without relying on third-party services.
From decentralized assets to intelligent orchestration
SAP Distributed Energy Resources (SAP DER) was designed to meet this very challenge. Built on SAP BTP, the solution enables utilities to manage data from decentralized energy sources—covering production, consumption, and storage—at scale while ensuring reliability, performance, and consistency.
Rather than serving as an operational control system, SAP DER focuses on data orchestration and integration. It ensures seamless data flow from decentralized energy assets between operational, commercial, and analytical systems, providing a single source of truth that bridges the physical and digital energy worlds.
"The complexity of prosumer energy data that our customers must handle is growing exponentially. They need data that is reliable and consistent across all their sources—and that's where SAP Distributed Energy Resources comes in." — Kim Maren Ekrutt, Co-Head, Global Industry Business Unit Utilities, SAP
The two pillars of SAP DER
- Complex installation and orchestration of prosumer data: the technical and commercial foundation
Manage the full spectrum of prosumer data, encompassing both intricate technical asset details—such as meters, photovoltaic systems, batteries, electric vehicles and their charging stations, and heat pumps—and the commercial information essential for the smooth operation of decentralized energy resources. This includes master data for customers and prosumers, product structures, tariffs, contracts, grid connection agreements, feed-in arrangements, and all business relationships tied to each asset.
By integrating technical asset data with commercial attributes and contract information, the solution delivers a coherent and reliable overview of every energy asset. This is essential, because purely technical data is not enough to manage decentralized energy resources. Commercial products, grid contracts, flexible tariffs, and performance incentive agreements determine how energy flows are measured, billed, shared, or monetized.
This foundation enables energy communities, participation in virtual power plants, flexibility programs, dynamic pricing, capacity and congestion management, and any business model involving prosumers and decentralized energy assets.
1. Energy Management and Distribution
Track and analyze how energy is consumed, generated, stored, and distributed—enabling new energy communities and peer-to-peer business models. With high-resolution energy data and intelligent allocation algorithms, utilities can offer both residential and commercial customers transparent, fair, and compliant energy-sharing solutions.
Connecting Data, Processes, and People
For mission-critical processes like meter-to-cash, asset management, and customer experience, utilities already rely on SAP solutions. SAP Distributed Energy Resources (DER) expands this foundation by consolidating all assets, contracts, and customer interactions into a unified data model. This integrated approach transforms technical data into real business value—supporting use cases such as smart tariffs, dynamic pricing, and shared energy utilization. For utilities, this means a central digital backbone that bridges two worlds: the traditional meter-to-cash process (from meter reading to billing) and the emerging flexibility markets driven by the growing decentralization of energy supply.
A Partner Network for Energy Market Flexibility
No single provider can cover the entire decentralized energy landscape. SAP has built a network of carefully selected technology partners, each contributing deep expertise to complement SAP's business data platform. All data remains with the utility, ensuring full control over business logic and customer relationships.
SAP's technology partners extend the platform across six key areas:
- Flexibility management and virtual power plants: Orchestrate and leverage prosumer assets—such as electric vehicles, batteries, heat pumps, and solar inverters—for flexibility markets and smart charging management.
- Energy-sharing through energy communities: Design and manage energy communities with transparent allocation, dynamic local pricing, and full regulatory compliance.
- Grid congestion and capacity management: Anticipate, identify, and resolve bottlenecks in low-voltage networks while unlocking additional revenue through flexibility trading.
- Energy portfolio management and trading: Access wholesale and flexibility markets with real-time pricing, dynamic offer structuring, and risk management.
- Customer insights and load disaggregation: Provide behind-the-meter transparency through non-invasive load monitoring and device-specific analytics.
- Demand response and load management: Develop and implement programs that combine customer incentives, dynamic pricing, and automated device control to optimize energy demand.
"Our mission is to help utilities not just manage the growing complexity of data but turn it into a strategic advantage. With SAP Distributed Energy Resources and our partner network, we bring together data, processes, and partners on an intelligent platform—empowering utilities to drive their own energy transition."
— Kim Maren Ekrutt, Global VP and Co-Head, Industry Business Unit Utilities
About SAP Distributed Energy Resources
SAP Distributed Energy Resources provides utility companies with a public cloud platform that helps them model, manage, and share data related to decentralized energy generation. The solution is integrated into SAP for Utilities, the company's industry-specific portfolio, and is supported by a global network of select partners. This enables reliable data exchange, smart energy management, and innovative customer services—key factors in the era of decentralized power generation.
