An Inconvenient Truth
The quiet center of power in the green transition isn’t hardware or incentives—it’s control over deployment. As utilities move to consolidate the installation layer, independent contractors face a critical choice: integrate into the new utility infrastructure or risk being left behind in the race for the "all-in-one" customer journey.
Joti Mangat
1/2/20261 min read
There’s an inconvenient truth in electrification that still feels impolite to say out loud: utilities are consolidating the entire deployment layer, and most installers are struggling to figure out their best move.
Yes, independent installers can compete today on responsiveness, customer care and build quality.
But as EVs, heat pumps and batteries scale, the gravitational pull shifts.
Eventually you either join a utility’s subcontractor network…or you build something with comparable reach, data access, tariff integration and brand weight.
Gunnar’s post underlines why this matters.
Installer.com isn’t “another platform”; it’s part of the new infrastructure utilities will standardise on to win the long game: sale → installation → smart tariff → flexibility activation, all in one motion.
For utilities and OEMs on both sides of the Atlantic: the race won’t be won on incentives or hardware specs.
It will be won on control of deployment — quiet centre of power in electrification. 🧩
Happy to compare notes with anyone watching this shift unfold.