Power Costs

What Power Costs does

Power Costs, Inc. (doing business as PCI Energy Solutions) is a privately held enterprise software company founded in 1992 and headquartered in Norman, Oklahoma. The company provides cloud-native, multi-commodity energy management software for utilities, independent power producers, and wholesale power traders across North America, Latin America, Europe, and Australia. Its PCI Platform unifies energy trading, risk management, fuel logistics, ISO/RTO operations, scheduling, transmission management, and settlements into a single integrated system, with the company claiming that more than 75% of Fortune 500 U.S. utilities and over 50% of North American power generation are managed using its software.

The company's product portfolio is anchored by three core solutions: PCI ETRM for end-to-end energy trading, risk, and scheduling; GenManager (Bid-to-Bill) covering forecasting through final settlement; and GenTrader for portfolio optimization across power, fuels, and renewables. These are augmented by specialized modules for transmission management, outage management, and energy accounting, plus a growing AI layer (PCI AI) that includes PCI Forecaster (load/wind/solar/LMP forecasting), BatteryTrader for battery energy storage optimization, PCI Insights with natural-language querying, and market-specific AI chatbots (ISO Bot, M+ Bot, CEN Bot). The platform is built on AWS infrastructure under a strategic cloud partnership.

PCI operates a direct enterprise sales motion with quote-based, multi-year SaaS subscriptions and modular deployment tailored to each customer. Revenue is generated through enterprise licensing and recurring subscriptions rather than usage-based pricing. The customer base includes large investor-owned utilities, cooperative and public power entities, independent power producers, and trading firms such as Florida Municipal Power Pool, OG&E, Salt River Project, PNM, Basin Electric, Consumers Energy, and Guzman Energy. Notable recent milestones include powering the 2026 launches of CAISO's Extended Day Ahead Market (EDAM) and SPP's RTO expansion. The company employs 251-500 people and is led by founder Fred Lee (CEO/President) with Buck Feng as CTO, Sandy Ho as CFO, and Khai Le as SVP.

Name

Power Costs

Legal name

Power Costs, Inc.

Website

https://powercosts.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Power Costs (PCI Energy Solutions) provides cloud-native enterprise software for energy trading, risk management, and portfolio optimization, serving utilities, independent power producers, and wholesale power traders across North America and internationally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Energy Trading and Risk Management Software

NAICS

Electric Power Transmission, Control, and Distribution (22112), Electric Power Generation (22111)

SIC

Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373), Electronic Computers (3571)

akta.pro primary industry

VPP Orchestration & Aggregator Operating Platforms (EUAFAKAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Emissions Factors, LCA & Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) Platforms (EUABAEAD), Power Conversion Systems for Energy Storage (Bidirectional converters, PCS) (IMAGADAE)

Keywords

• Energy trading software
• ETRM platform
• Portfolio optimization
• Bid-to-bill management
• Utility energy management

Headquarters

HQ city

Norman

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Enterprise Software Licensing and Subscription: PCI Energy Solutions provides enterprise energy management software on a subscription/licensing basis. The company offers modular, cloud-first solutions tailored to each customer's needs with expert support included. Software includes ETRM, Bid-to-Bill, Portfolio Optimization, Transmission Management, and Outage Management modules.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Power Costs (PCI Energy Solutions) provides a cloud-native, multi-commodity energy management platform that unifies energy trading, risk management, fuel logistics, ISO operations, scheduling, and settlements in a single integrated system. Its core products include PCI ETRM (end-to-end trading, risk, and scheduling), GenManager (bid-to-bill lifecycle management), and GenTrader (portfolio optimization), augmented by AI/ML modules for forecasting, battery trading, and analytics.

Product overview

Power Costs (PCI Energy Solutions) offers a modular, cloud-native platform architecture called the PCI Platform that consolidates all multi-commodity trading activities in a single system. The core products include PCI ETRM (Energy Trading and Risk Management) for end-to-end trading, risk, and scheduling; GenManager for bid-to-bill lifecycle management; and GenTrader for portfolio optimization. These are powered by platform components including PCI AI (AI/ML forecasting, battery trading, and settlements) and PCI Insights (analytics and reporting). Supporting modules cover transmission management, outage management, energy accounting, and sustainable energy solutions. The platform natively integrates AI-enabled enterprise analytics and serves markets across North America, Latinoamerica, Europe, and Australia.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• GenManager®: Bid-to-Bill solution covering from first forecast to final bill across every market.
• GenTrader®
• BatteryTrader®
• PCI Forecaster®
• PCI Insights™

Products and services

• PCI Platform

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduced wind farm forecasting error rate from 28% to 14% for Montana-Dakota Utilities
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability7 records

Feature10 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Amazon Web Services (AWS)coreTechnology or IntegrationStrategic cloud infrastructure partnership. PCI's cloud-native platform is built on AWS, providing scalable, secure, and reliable energy management solutions. AWS and PCI co-authored a blog post 'Transforming Energy Trading by Managing Complexity & Driving Growth with Cloud ETRM' demonstrating close collaboration. AWS provides the foundational cloud infrastructure supporting PCI's full-spectrum suite of energy trading and optimization solutions.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• AutoGrid (Schneider Electric): AI-driven DER optimization and VPP platform now part of Schneider Electric. Compares to PCI's forecasting and storage optimization modules as a focused AI/DER specialist.
• EnergyHub: DER aggregation and VPP operating platform for utilities. Comparable to PCI's BatteryTrader and emerging orchestration capabilities around distributed energy resources.

Direct peers

• ION Group (Openlink Financial / Allegro / Triple Point): Largest pure-play ETRM/CTRM software provider serving utilities, oil & gas, and commodity traders globally. Most direct head-to-head competitor to PCI's ETRM, scheduling, and trading modules.
• Eka Software Solutions: Cloud-native ETRM/CTRM platform for energy, ags, and metals. Directly comparable as a cloud-first alternative to PCI for energy trading and risk management.
• Open Systems International (OSI): Energy Management System (EMS) and operational technology vendor for transmission and generation operators. Highly comparable to PCI's transmission management, BA Operations, and outage offerings.
• Allegro Development (an ION company): ETRM platform for commodities including power and gas. Directly competes with PCI ETRM in front-, middle-, and back-office trading workflows.
• Aspect Enterprise (now part of ION): Commodity trading and risk management platform acquired by ION. Overlaps with PCI ETRM in power, gas, and refined products trading workflows.

Broad incumbents

• Hitachi Energy (formerly ABB Power Grids): Global incumbent providing utility-scale EMS, control room, and grid management software. Competes with PCI in transmission operations and outage management as part of a broader OT/IT portfolio.
• Schneider Electric (EcoStruxure): Broad energy management and industrial software platform via EcoStruxure. Comparable as a horizontal energy optimization vendor serving large utility and industrial customers.

Regional players

• Trayecto (Energy Tools): ETRM/energy management software with particular strength in Latin American power markets. Directly comparable on a regional basis to PCI's 90% Mexico generation capacity footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/powercosts
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/power-costs-inc.-pci
• Facebookfacebook.com/powercostsinccareers

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Power Costs