Klaus Lichtenauer on Digital Transformation in the Energy

Interviewed by Menity
Oct 1, 2015
3 min read

Updated: Aug 29

Smart Grid, Smart Metering, Smart Home, Smart City, and E-Mobility — digitalization in the energy sector goes far beyond buzzwords.

Klaus Lichtenauer, Managing Director at E.ON Business Services Slovakia, reflects on the transformation of the utility industry, the role of IT, and the opportunities of digitalization.

Portrait of Klaus Lichtenauer, Managing Director at E.ON Business Services Slovakia, featured in the MENITY Leaders Talk archive (2014–2016), discussing digital transformation and innovation in the energy industry.

Q: How has the utility sector in Slovakia changed over the last years?

The past 15 years have brought dramatic shifts. International companies entered the Slovak market, such as E.ON investing in Západoslovenská energetika, and privatization reshaped the sector. Utilities had to expand their product portfolios — gas companies started selling electricity, and vice versa.

Legislation also played a decisive role. The EU’s Third Energy Package required the unbundling of supply and generation from transmission, creating conditions for competition. This legal, operational, and informational separation liberalized the market, posing new challenges for large-scale energy enterprises.

Q: How did these changes affect IT in the utility sector?

IT had to adapt quickly. Standardization and globalization intensified, while cost pressure increased. Integrated IT operations became the norm, and many utilities consolidated their data centers. Selective outsourcing followed — for example, E.ON outsourced infrastructure services to Hewlett-Packard and T-Systems.

At the same time, new business needs demanded investment in modern systems. As emerging processes no longer supported legacy mainframes, migrations to client-server architectures, such as SAP or Oracle, were initiated.

Q: Are these trends global or country-specific?

They are primarily global, at least across Europe. Regulation differs slightly, but the outcomes are similar. Take unbundling: energy companies had to separate their retail and distribution operations, which required IT to redesign their architectures, adjust operating models, and customize processes.

The same applies to liberalization — countries moved at different speeds, but the direction is the same: open competition and customer-centric business models.

Q: What developments can we expect in the utility sector?

Utilities must rethink their strategies. Drivers include the shift to green and safe energy from renewables, decentralized generation, changing trading prices, and stronger competition — not only from traditional players but also from new entrants such as startups, Google, and Amazon.

Customers now expect more than commodity products. Utilities must deliver value-added and innovative services, while regulators demand tools like smart metering to improve efficiency. The future will require a complete redesign of many business processes.

Q: What challenges does IT face in supporting these changes?

IT must become both flexible and robust. Systems need to adapt quickly and at low cost, yet handle massive data management and analytics. Cloud solutions and digital platforms will dominate future IT landscapes, reshaping operations and the skill sets required of IT professionals. Stability, flexibility, and innovation must go hand in hand.

Portrait of Klaus Lichtenauer, Managing Director at E.ON Business Services Slovakia, photographed by the river, as part of the MENITY Leaders Talk archive (2014–2016), on energy industry digitalization and transformation.

Q: What does digitalization mean for the utility industry?

Digitalization is the shift from manual processes to automated digital workflows and the development of entirely new business models. Technologies like big data, analytics, cloud services, and mobile devices drive this change. IT must also integrate external ecosystems — from social networks to the Internet of Things — which raises complexity but also creates opportunities.

Utilities cannot avoid this transformation. Smart Grid, Smart Metering, Smart Home, Smart City, and E-Mobility are no longer concepts but necessities. Success will depend on choosing the right partners, adapting company culture, and aligning IT with business innovation.

Thank you, Klaus.

About Mr. Lichtenauer

Klaus Lichtenauer is Managing Director at E.ON Business Services Slovakia. He leads business transformation and the integration of new technologies and has held IT and business development roles across Europe. He holds a Master of Computer Science from the College of Informatics in Munich.

Peter Nemcok, Managing Partner at Menity and moderator of Leaders Talk interview with Klaus Lichtenauer (2014–2016).

This interview was part of the MENITY Leaders Talk series (2014–2016).

Interview with Mr. Lichtenauer, conducted by Mr. Nemcok, Managing Partner at MENITY.