Its €0.5m investment in drone maker Arborea Intellbird SL is one of a number targeting returns via O&M efficiency improvements, Bloomberg reports.
The others include Stem Inc., a California energy-storage provider that uses artificial intelligence to gauge when customers will need power and Innowatts Inc., a Houston-based company that’s using smart electric meters to provide demand forecasts for individual households and aggregating the data in a way that utilities like Iberdrola can use to reduce hedging costs.
Utility VC budgets according to BNEF research: Iberdrola’s is €100m. Centrica’s $132m, EON about 114, since it started in 2013, and Fortum as much as 200 million euros.
Image: Iberdrola
