Strategic Planning Enables Commercial Growth for a Public Utility
Optia partnered with a public utility to design a scalable commercial growth strategy, balancing public oversight with private-sector performance to unlock new revenue streams that could offset rate increases and infrastructure maintenance costs.
Challenge
The utility faced declining core usage, rising infrastructure costs, and growing pressure to minimize rate increases for customers. While early commercial initiatives were profitable, they lacked scale. Leadership needed to define a bold, defensible growth strategy that could withstand board scrutiny, community review, and support long-term financial sustainability.
Approach
Optia partnered with executive leadership to develop a strategic commercial growth strategy.
Key activities included:
- Enterprise discovery across existing commercial assets, acquisitions, partnerships, and product lines
- Executive and Board workshops to define goals for commercial growth
- Scenario modeling to evaluate acquisition, partnership, and organic growth pathways
- An actionable roadmap translating the strategic vision into prioritized initiatives and near-term execution plans
Outcome
The authority emerged with a clearly articulated commercial growth strategy designed to materially expand non-rate revenue while reinforcing stakeholder trust. Key outcomes included:
- A board-aligned commercial vision that refocused incremental experimentation to scalable enterprise growth
- A multi-year roadmap connecting acquisitions, partnerships, and product expansion to measurable financial impact
- Increased confidence in pursuing adjacent commercial investments to support long-term ratepayer relief
- A repeatable planning framework enabling leadership to evaluate future opportunities with speed and discipline
