30575 - MANAGING THE GREEN TRANSITION: THE ROLE OF UTILITIES

Public utilities - water, waste, power, gas providers – play an important role in fulfilling basic public needs, at both local and national level, and in strengthening the competitiveness of countries and cities. However, managing public utilities is rather complex: water and energy crises, pollution, development of renewable energy sources, opposition for new infrastructure, stakeholder engagement are some of the major issues that intersect with more or less successful liberalization and privatization policies. In addition, in recent years the world has been witnessing a Green Transition, which entails two main processes of change: the Energy Transition and the Circular Economy. These processes are the “fil rouge” of the whole course. Within this framework, the classes delve deeper into the management of public utilities in terms of managerial and financial dimensions, as well as the industrial perspectives. Attention is dedicated to infrastructure, financing issues, technological change and Internet of Things in the public utilities. The course has both a national and international perspectives. Top managers, regulators and public administrators are invited to deliver a lecture on their experience. Plants’ visits are organised.

Fundamental concepts of Utilities Management. Electricity markets, the prosumer model and the new businesses in the context of the Energy Transition. Energy Efficiency in manufacturing and buildings: an European perspective. Corporate strategies in a declining natural gas market. Competing in highly regulated industries: the European Water and Waste Sectors in the framework of the Circular Economy. Infrastructure and stakeholder engagement. The impact of IoT on utilities and infrastructure. Financing the utility sector and infrastructure. Marketing topics in the utility sector. Case-studies and other relevant topics regarding the sector.

• Define the concept of Energy Transition and Circular Economy
• Describe the most important legislation and regulation regarding the energy, water and waste sectors in the Green Transition
• Describe the main strategic and managerial problems of the energy, water and waste sectors
• Identify the main Renewable Energy Sources, their cost and benefits
• Illustrate the most important innovations in the energy, water and waste sectors
• Identify the issues related with stakeholder management and funding of instructure for the energy, water and waste sectors

• Analyze utility companies strategies and critical issues
• Evaluate energy and environmental policies from a company perspective
• Hypothesize the future developments of the energy, water and waste sectors 
• Develop communication and drafting skills

• Face-to-face lectures
• Online lectures
• Guest speaker's talks (in class or in distance)
• Company visits
• Case studies /Incidents (traditional, online)
• Individual assignments

• Guest speaker's talks: managers of utilities illustrating their work.
• Company visits: visits to companies plants.
• Case studies: examples explaining topics of the course.
• Individual assignments: students presenting particular topics regarding the course.

The student’s final evaluation is based on:

A pro-active course participation thanks also to interactive didactic tools and possible individual assignment (1-3 points)

A final exam with 30 questions (open and multiple choice), lasting 60 minutes. The exam is based on the the slides provided by the professors. (30 points)

Or alternatively to the final exam,

An individual research analyzing and discussing a relevant topic/case-study in the framework of the Energy Transition and the Circular Economy agreed with the Professors. The final grade will be based on the final document (24 points) and its presentation (6 points).

Oral exam based on the slides and other teaching materials provided during the course.

• Teaching slides
• First two chapters of The Italian Utilities Industry: success stories and future perspectives. Ed. Gilardoni A., Springer, 2020

• Teaching slides
• The Italian Utilities Industry: success stories and future perspectives. Ed. Gilardoni A., Springer, 2020