There are several ways in which deregulation is creating demand for the services offered by consultants. We will be looking at some of those. But we first need to briefly acquaint ourselves with the 'deregulation' concept in question here. That is where we'd come to learn that deregulation is a process which culminates in the consumers getting the opportunity to buy as a commodity directly from the producers.

This is against a background where, before the advent of deregulation, consumers always had to buy the units (of electric or gas energy) they needed from their local utility companies. Thus even the independent producers of resources would have to give the resources they worked so hard to produce to the utility companies, which were the only companies involved in 'retail' of units and subsequent transmission of the units to the consumers. In this regard, consumers would include both those who use the energy resources in the domestic setting and those who use in businesses.

But after the deregulation of the sector, consumers of energy get to buy it (energy as a commodity) directly from the people who produce it. And as mentioned earlier, such deregulation of the sector has created enhanced demand for the services offered by consultants. We are now going to look at the specific areas where energy deregulation more or less 'forces' consumers to seek the help of energy consultants. Those include:

Conceptualization: this is where we see many people (especially those who are in energy-intensive businesses) seeking the help of these consultants when they hear that the energy sector is being deregulated, and that the deregulation is likely to impact them directly. In these scenarios, the people in question tend to express interest in knowing what exactly the said energy deregulation is all about, how it works, what its impacts are€¦ and so on. To have a proper understanding of such things, many such people invite the energy consultants, for presentations on the same subject. This is because the consultants (being knowledgeable actors in the energy sector) are often in a position to explain things and bring perspectives the people in question wouldn't get if they were to simply undertake research on the subject in libraries.

Energy supplier selection: energy deregulation brings with it the freedom, on the part of energy consumers, to choose the energy producers they wish to work with. But this is a sensitive choice to make, and many people seek expert help (in a bid to avoid making poor choices of energy producers to procure energy from, and ending up facing major difficulties in the future).

Negotiation: in the deregulated energy sector, consumers of energy have the chance to negotiate for better prices. But this negotiation is best done by people who have proper understanding of the energy sector nuances. Energy consultants fit that bill, and are therefore often retained by people looking to buy 'energy as a commodity.' In those cases, the energy consultants are specifically retained to negotiate with the energy producers for better energy prices on behalf of their clients.