2023 Trade Ally Survey

What you will learn

DNV spoke with small, medium, and large trade allies across North America to find out the challenges and opportunities they are facing.    

Utilities can use these unique insights to develop programs and initiatives that can immediately unlock greater savings, deliver more value generation and market growth, and motivate trade allies. 

Introduction

DNV’s Trade Ally Survey – now in its sixth year – continues to bring utilities unique insights around the challenges, solutions, and opportunities facing trade allies.  

Energy programs are essential to America’s energy transition, providing utility customers access to technologies and equipment that will lead to a clean energy future. Trade allies are at the heart of it. When they win, your company and energy program win.  

DNV interviewed 275 trade allies participating in energy programs operated across North America. Their feedback indicates four priority challenges where support from utilities could make a big difference. 

• Supply chain and operations 
• Technology and growth 
• Participation 
• Diversity 

Ignoring these challenges means that your energy program is leaving energy savings on the table. 

We developed deep dive assessments for each challenge that will arm utilities with valuable insights to unleash the full value of your program and trade ally engagement.  

Supply chain and operations 

In a change from the previous two years, trade allies see a bright future. However, they remain cautious on supply chain, hiring, and operational challenges. 

Utilities should be aware that trade allies still report supply chain barriers that could impact the timing of implementing new or popular technologies. 

Download the report 'Supply chain, hiring, and operational challenges for trade allies'

Technology and growth 

Trade allies are pursuing opportunities related to electric vehicles, but they report facing challenges when it comes to finding and converting leads for EV related work.    

Across the board, trade allies are embracing new technologies and pursuing a diverse set of opportunities.  

Download the report 'Navigating the shifting landscape with trade allies'

Participation

Utility energy programs will continue to be popular across the board if utilities invest in enabling trade allies to capture demand. 

A large increase in demand is expected from the Homes Energy Rebate programs driven by the Inflation Reduction Act.  

Download the report 'Utility program participation challenges across business sizes'

Diversity 

Examining diversity within the trade ally ecosystem reveals progress in some segments, and persistent gaps across the broader industry. A diverse labor force has historically bolstered program adoption in underserved communities.

Download the report 'Diversity progress and gaps within trade ally organizations'

Contact us

Contact Todd Davidson if you are ready to act now and unlock the full value of your program. 

Todd, and our wider network of DNV experts, builds and manages strong trade ally networks for our customers. Their work has a proven track record of enabling customers to realize greater savings and achieve their goals.    

Our services are grounded in an unrivaled understanding of trade ally activity, market insights and trends, and technology deployment. This uniquely positions DNV to provide sound, meaningful guidance that enables customers to better motivate their trade allies and, ultimately, unleash the full potential of their program and trade ally networks.     

The deep dive assessments for each challenge area are freely available for you to download and share with your colleagues.