If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. Or at least invest in ‘em. That's the guiding philosophy for many utilities eyeing the competitive threats swirling around them.

In 2016 alone, utilities in Europe and North America invested $1 billion in distributed energy companies across solar, software, storage, combined heat and power, and a range of grid management technologies. Since 2010, utilities have invested nearly $3 billion in startups.

That tally comes from Shayle Kann and Andrew Mulherkar, who have been tracking activity. They recently released their findings in a free report.

In this week's show, we talk about what the ramp-up in investment tells us about utility innovation strategies.

Access the free report: http://bit.ly/2lUNpNK

The Interchange

Utilities Are Investing Heavily in Startups

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