According to TechCrunch, COI Energy has developed a marketplace where enterprises can sell unused electricity capacity when data predicts they won’t need it. The startup, founded by energy industry veteran SaLisa Berrien, installs patented energy gateways to measure usage and predict requirements up to 90 days in advance. COI is currently operating with five pilot customers and will be pitching at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 as the company addresses a fundamental inefficiency in commercial electricity allocation.
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Understanding Capacity Allocation Challenges
The fundamental problem COI addresses stems from how electricity markets traditionally handle commercial customers. Unlike residential users who pay for actual consumption, large enterprises must reserve capacity based on peak usage scenarios, creating significant waste in the system. This approach dates back to utility infrastructure planning where public utilities needed to ensure grid stability by having sufficient capacity for maximum potential demand. The system essentially forces businesses to pay for insurance against rare peak usage events, much like paying for an empty hotel room you might need once a year.
Critical Implementation Challenges
While the concept is innovative, COI faces substantial regulatory and technical hurdles. Electricity markets are among the most heavily regulated industries, with complex rules governing energy trading, transmission, and distribution. The platform’s ability to transfer capacity between customers within the same utility territory raises questions about how these transactions interact with existing utility tariffs and capacity markets. Additionally, the accuracy of 90-day predictions could be compromised by unexpected operational changes, weather events, or economic fluctuations that alter energy consumption patterns. The hardware-agnostic approach, while beneficial for deployment, may face integration challenges with legacy building management systems that weren’t designed for dynamic capacity sharing.
Market Disruption Potential
COI’s approach represents a significant shift in how commercial sustainable energy management could evolve. By creating a secondary market for reserved capacity, the company could fundamentally change how enterprises approach energy procurement and efficiency. This model challenges the traditional utility revenue structure that often benefits from over-capacity reservations. If successful, COI could pressure utilities to develop more flexible pricing models and accelerate the adoption of demand-response technologies across commercial real estate. The international interest, particularly from Switzerland’s planned 2026 energy policy, suggests global applicability for capacity-sharing models.
Scalability and Competitive Landscape
The $3.5 million pre-seed funding provides runway, but scaling will require navigating complex utility relationships and proving reliability at scale. Companies like Exelon and other established energy players have deep resources to develop competing solutions once the market proves viable. The platform’s success will depend on achieving critical mass within utility territories to create liquid markets for capacity trading. While the social mission through “Kilowatt for Good” adds compelling branding, the core business must demonstrate clear ROI for enterprise customers facing their own budget pressures. The transition from pilot programs to widespread adoption will be the true test of whether this innovative approach can overcome entrenched industry practices.
