Land of the MUSCos

Present infrastructure service delivery, characterized by isolated supply streams for an uncontrolled demand, is uneconomical, inefficient, and ultimately unsustainable. What kinds of alternatives can be identified and implemented?
In this project, we intend to research and promote the establishment of Multi-Utility Service Companies, or MUSCos. The defining characteristics of a MUSCo are (1) the single point of service to multiple utilities; and (2) profiting from service delivery, not selling physical products. The emphasis on service delivery represents a paradigm shift away the supply and demand of physical flows (energy, water, etc) to the supply of services (ambient temperature, illumination, food preservation, cleanliness, etc). The lower the energy and water consumption of its clients, the higher the MUSCo's profit - as long as the MUSCo maintains the requested level of service provision. A MUSCo model integrates the end-user, through the establishment of contracts based on explicit service requirements, driving innovation through a focus on performance. It would lead to greater integration of infrastructures and utility streams, since the MUSCo would be a single point of service, aggregating information and enabling common planning. The MUSCo model could also be expected to encourage more adaptable and resilient infrastructure design, enabling demand management through greater integration of information and knowledge of the end-user requirements. Like infrastructure itself, MUSCos are a means to an end: the ultimate goal is the radical expansion of the best possible technology and efficiency measures, leading to large verified savings in resource use and reductions in carbon emissions.
The goal of this project is to bring the age of the MUSCos forward: to characterize possible multi-utility service-based performance contracting, to understand the current opportunities and barriers to MUSCo development, and to realistically model the socio-technical systemic changes required for a true MUSCo expansion. Moreover, by bringing together engaged stakeholders from the user and provider communities, we hope to test MUSCo ideas in a present day context.
The methodology is based on the combination of three complementary components:
1. The investigation of multi-utility service contracts (including technical challenge of defining integrated services with possible substitutability of utility streams to satisfy the service demand). Where examples exist, we will search for best practices;
2. The survey of the governance landscape, regulatory and incentive structures of the different utilities, producers, distributors and other connected actors, to map the drivers, motivations and constraints of the current entities; and
3. The combination of these two streams of information into an integrated socio-technical model using the rules and inter-linkages defined in the previous components and capable of exploring future governance and technical scenarios.
This methodology is intended to aggregate prior research outcomes along with expert and stakeholder knowledge. The outcomes of the model will be critically assessed at regular intervals, in order to reach agreement on its robustness.
This project represents a fundamental paradigm shift in the interactions between suppliers, providers and consumers of infrastructure services. The business model shifts resource use from a profit centre to a cost centre (and vice-versa for investments in efficiency), and enables infrastructure integration through the focus on the point of use.

Who might benefit:
Academia - many branches of academia will benefit from the research in both UK and international institutions. This is described in more detail in the academic impact section above.
Public sector - the research will develop roadmaps to new governance models for the delivery of more resource efficiency services. This will support policy decision making and evolution of governance systems. The delivery of more resource efficient services will contribute to a number of government sustainability targets and binding commitments, including carbon emissions reduction targets.
Utility companies - the research will develop robust, a viable roadmap towards a more resource efficient, profitable business model for infrastructure service delivery. This will support business decision making and encourage a paradigm shift away from the supply and demand of physical flows (energy, water, etc) to the supply of services (ambient temperature, illumination, food preservation, cleanliness, etc).
Business and industry - the research will enable more effective delivery of services at lower resource consumption allowing companies to improve the efficiency of their operation and demonstrate Corporate Social Responsibility.
General public - the research will enable the more effective delivery of services that the general public need, reducing cost and improving access to services.

How they might benefit:
Commercial and Economic -the research will describe new profitable business models giving the confidence to invest in and move towards more resource efficient, interconnected operations. More efficient service delivery to businesses will enable them to operate at lower costs and resource consumption, making them more efficient and increasing gross value added.
Environmental - the new approach described in the research will dramatically reduce the resource consumption of service delivery and the associated environmental impacts including resource depletion, ecosystem damage, air and water pollution and carbon emissions.
Improving social welfare and public services - the research will describe how services could be delivered more efficiently, which will improve equity of access to basic services.
Influencing public policy and legislation - the research will identify new resource efficient models of service delivery and how policy and governance could evolve to deliver these models
Operational and organisational change - the research will identify new, more efficient ways of governing and operating utility companies.
Technological - the research will identify the role of technology in delivering and monitoring more resource efficient services to households and businesses promoting the uptake of novel technologies or the use of existing technologies in novel ways.