The evolution of the Energy Manager: technology, strategy, and the human factor

Based on your experience, how has the role of the Energy Manager evolved over the last decade? How do you see this role developing toward a more strategic one?

Over the last ten years, the role of the Energy Manager has been radically transformed. What was once primarily an operational function is now immersed in increasing complexity: from the volatility of energy prices to continuous regulatory changes—just think of Italian Legislative Decree 102/2024, which requires not only audits but also implementation, reporting, and new "green" conditions. Added to this are the evolutions related to incentives, ATECO classifications, and market mechanisms such as Energy Release or interruptibility. In parallel, ESG compliance has introduced new responsibilities: in manufacturing companies, the Energy Manager has become the primary contact for carbon emissions and for defining decarbonization strategies.

For all these reasons, the role is evolving towards an increasingly strategic function, linked to competitiveness and long-term decisions. It is no longer just about consumption management but an integrated vision that unites energy, production, finance, and sustainability. And it is precisely in this context that solutions like Veil can support Energy Managers in governing this complexity with data, technology, and advanced analytics.

Why did you decide to create E-BOOST, and what specific needs of the energy ecosystem was it designed to meet?

When we started developing E-BOOST, our goal was very concrete: to improve the profitability and reliability of power generation plants. In 2015, many photovoltaic, wind, and biogas customers faced frequent problems with plant downtime, faults, non-optimized maintenance, and performance well below expectations. A tool was needed that could increase asset availability and, at the same time, allow for more effective management of the energy produced and fed into the grid.

Since 2019, we have seen a mirrored need emerge in prosumer industrial sites and large energy consumers: here, the issue was not selling energy better, but consuming less, reducing costs, and optimizing integration with self-production. The complexity was the same, but with a different objective. E-BOOST was created precisely to respond to both these worlds: producers and consumers who share the need to monitor, understand, and optimize their energy flows.

How does digitalization, particularly automation and real-time insights, enable Energy Managers to shift from reporting to decision-making?

Digitalization is allowing Energy Managers to make a fundamental shift: from simple reporting to a truly continuous decision-making process. Today, a huge portion of their time is absorbed by data collection, which is often heterogeneous, incomplete, or even incorrect due to incorrect installations or undocumented modifications.

A reliable digital system—which centralizes, validates, and structures data—frees up valuable time, makes historical reporting more robust, and allows attention to shift from "looking back" to acting in real-time. Added to this is a decisive advantage: the ability to work with clear and standardized energy indicators, such as the ENPIs provided by ISO 50001, which help interpret consumption consistently and comparably.

Added to this is a decisive advantage: the ability to work with clear and standardized energy indicators, such as the ENPIs provided by ISO 50001, which help interpret consumption consistently and comparably.

Automation and the use of AI then make a further leap in quality. Algorithms like our Energy Twin analyze monitoring data and highlight patterns, anomalies, and inefficiencies that would often not be visible to the human eye. This allows the Energy Manager to quickly understand where to intervene and what the potential impact is. A concrete example: E-BOOST calculates "non-productive" energy, i.e., energy consumed in idle power. If an asset that accounts for 10% of total consumption shows 15% non-productive energy, the Energy Manager immediately knows that eliminating that waste means recovering up to 1.5% of the company's consumption. It is immediate, actionable information that transforms a data point into a decision.

In summary, digitalization and automation allow the Energy Manager to shift from the role of "consumption custodian" to a more active and strategic role, capable of intervening promptly, targetedly, and measurably.

E-BOOST automates data collection, analysis, and compliance for audits. How does this transformation impact the day-to-day work of Energy Consultants and Energy Managers?

The introduction of tools like E-BOOST is significantly changing the daily work of Energy Managers and auditors. As I explained earlier, a substantial portion of their time is still absorbed by data collection and organization. By automating this phase, E-BOOST eliminates one of the main bottlenecks: data is collected in real-time, validated, structured, and immediately available. For Energy Managers and consultants, this means being able to access dedicated and automatically updated reports—from the breakdown of consumption required by Legislative Decree 102/2014 to the registers for the Customs Agency, from Energy Efficiency Certificates (TEE) to Scope 1 and 2 carbon footprint. Information that would normally require days of work becomes available with a click.

E-BOOST also acts as a real Energy Management System compliant with ISO 50001: it allows tracking various EnPIs and easily integrates production data as well. Thanks to Energy Twin, even the usage hours of an asset—automatically calculated from metering data alone—can become reliable production KPIs, avoiding the need to access external MES or management systems. A great advantage, especially for sectors where "machine hours" are already a common reference. We are also introducing functionalities specifically designed for EGEs that streamline energy audits and preliminary economic evaluations on typical interventions such as photovoltaic systems.

In summary, E-BOOST allows energy consultants to shift from manual data management to high-value-added consulting, freeing up time, reducing errors, and offering immediate tools to support technical and strategic decisions.

Beyond audits and monitoring, how can energy managers leverage software platforms for broader business goals such as competitiveness, profitability, and ESG reporting?

We see a clear "Adoption Curve" path that takes the company from observation to strategic integration, where energy is no longer just a variable cost, but a financial lever.

With solutions like E-BOOST, we move beyond the historical data logic by integrating real-time market energy carrier costs. This allows for the implementation of intelligent automations that cross-reference demand, production, and prices to pursue the minimum site energy cost at every moment, radically optimizing the cost per unit of product, a crucial aspect for every Energy Manager.

This advanced approach also opens up new business horizons, such as the possibility of transforming sites into active prosumers, capable of monetizing flexibility through BESS (Battery Energy Storage Systems), acting almost as traders. Furthermore, efficiency is not just about savings; it is the most direct path to effectively addressing Scope 1 and Scope 2 carbon emissions. In summary, modern platforms not only ensure the achievement of the PNIEC 2030 goals but also guarantee that the investment in efficiency translates directly into a sustainable competitive advantage and robust ESG reporting.

What is the role of storage systems like BESS in the evolving energy landscape, and how should Energy Managers prepare for this shift?

The role of storage systems, BESS, is fundamental and is evolving rapidly. The constant decline in their costs has opened up scenarios that offer companies degrees of operational and financial freedom never before seen. We are talking not only about established logics like peak shaving, crucial for reducing fixed costs and problems related to the delivery point, or load shifting, which allows energy to be drawn from the grid during low-cost periods and used during peak times.

BESS is the key that allows the company to participate in markets, transforming into a kind of energy trader. Thanks to mechanisms like arbitrage—typical in photovoltaic plants—and, even more strategically, participation in markets like Interruptibility or the Capacity Market, the company is no longer just a consumer but a service provider for the grid, gaining new and significant sources of revenue.

In the face of this scenario, Energy Managers, auditor and consultants must prepare in two ways: firstly, it is crucial to overcome the self-consumption mentality and adopt a financial optimization approach. Secondly, they must demand and learn to use intelligent software platforms that not only manage internal efficiency but are capable of dynamically connecting and optimizing BESS with market price fluctuations and Terna's remuneration mechanisms. Only in this way does storage become the definitive tool for maximizing corporate competitiveness and resilience.

The human factor remains fundamental in energy management. What skills will the Energy Manager of tomorrow need, and how can technologies like E-BOOST support them?

The human factor will never be replaced, but its role will be amplified and transformed. Tomorrow's Energy Manager must evolve from a plant technician to a data and process strategist, with a strong financial vision. Technology, in fact, stops where human process or decision-making constraints begin: a software like E-BOOST can immediately detect a compressed air leak, but the actual elimination requires the experts’ experience to plan the intervention without impacting production.

Technologies like ours act as a cognitive amplifier. They do not make decisions, but they free the Energy Manager from low-level reporting, providing strategic insights and predictive optimization scenarios. Essentially, the system answers "what," allowing the person to focus on "how": translating the input into a concrete and sustainable roadmap of actions. The synergy between the algorithm's reliability and decades of experience is the true key to the future success of energy-intensive companies.

Looking ahead, what do you see as the biggest challenges and opportunities for Energy Managers in the next 5-10 years?

In the coming years, the Energy Manager will have to navigate a constant tension between energy costs that will remain critical, exacerbated by the growing and rapid energy demand from data centers for AI, and increasingly stringent European regulations. The new Energy Efficiency Directive (EU 2023/1791), which expands the audience of companies subject to audits and mandates ISO 50001 for large energy consumers, transforms energy management into an unavoidable strategic obligation.

The real opportunity lies in the ever-increasing interaction with the grid. The energy transition poses significant challenges to distribution, and grid operators will increasingly require flexibility and capacity services. For Energy Managers, this means strengthening operational resilience—as demonstrated by recent events like the blackout in Spain—and, at the same time, monetizing this flexibility. By transforming their site into an active market player, new sources of revenue open up that will make energy efficiency a win-win business strategy for the future.