What ILLUME Advising does

ILLUME Advising, LLC is a privately held strategy consultancy specializing in the energy sector, founded in 2013 and headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin, with a secondary office in Tucson, Arizona. The firm provides evidence-based consulting services to North American electric and gas utilities, state and federal energy agencies, and energy efficiency program administrators, with work spanning policy translation, program and solution design, customer engagement, evaluation consulting, and emerging technology assessment. Its core methodology integrates qualitative research (ethnographic interviews, focus groups, Delphi panels, ride-alongs) with quantitative analysis (market assessments, predictive modeling, energy burden and affordability analysis), organized across four practice areas: Human Insights; Affordability, Access, and Resiliency; Emerging Opportunities; and Evaluation and Success Planning. The company reaches buyers through direct enterprise engagement, industry conferences (ACEEE, BECC, AESP, IEPEC), thought leadership content (white papers, a podcast, a monthly newsletter), and its ChangeMaker community for sector leaders.

In May 2025, ILLUME was acquired by E Source, a utilities-focused consulting and research company, in an all-strategic transaction with undisclosed terms. The acquisition broadens E Source's research and human-centered consulting capabilities and positions ILLUME's team and services within a larger platform serving North American utility clients. Following the transaction, the ILLUME website redirects to esource.com and the brand is being integrated into E Source's broader solution set, which spans utility data, research, and advisory services. The firm has historically maintained a small core team (firmographics list 1-10; the management roster enumerates ~15-20 senior staff across disciplines including anthropology, cognitive science, behavioral economics, linguistics, engineering, and data science) covering fifteen U.S. states. Revenue, ownership history beyond the founders (Anne Dougherty and Sara Conzemius), and acquisition financials are not publicly disclosed.

Name

ILLUME Advising

Legal name

ILLUME Advising, LLC

Website

https://illumeadvising.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ILLUME Advising is an energy-sector strategy consultancy that blends ethnographic and qualitative research with quantitative analytics to serve North American electric and gas utilities, state energy agencies, and program administrators across policy, program design, evaluation, and customer engagement.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Energy Consulting Services

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161), Environmental Consulting Services (541620), Other Management Consulting Services (541618)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

EHS Auditing, Inspections & Assurance (BPAHAJAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

ESG/Sustainable Investment Advisory (FSAEAAAJ)

Keywords

• Energy consulting
• Utility advisory
• Program evaluation
• Energy equity research
• Demand-side management

Headquarters

HQ city

Madison

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Energy Consulting Services: Strategy consultancy providing tailored, evidence-based consulting to utilities and energy sector clients including policy support, program design, evaluation consulting, and customer engagement services

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

ILLUME Advising is a strategy consultancy specializing in the energy sector, providing evidence-based consulting services that blend qualitative ethnographic research with quantitative data analytics. The firm supports utilities, regulators, and energy organizations across policy translation, program design, evaluation, customer engagement, and emerging technology assessment, organized around four practice areas: Human Insights, Affordability Access and Resiliency, Emerging Opportunities, and Evaluation and Success Planning.

Product overview

ILLUME Advising is a strategy consultancy specializing in the energy sector, offering a comprehensive suite of consulting services organized around four practice areas: Human Insights, Affordability Access and Resiliency, Emerging Opportunities, and Evaluation and Success Planning. The company's core service is evidence-based energy consulting that blends qualitative research (ethnographic research, focus groups, interviews) with quantitative analysis (market assessments, predictive modeling, energy burden analysis). Key service modules include Policy Support, Customer Engagement and Education, Program and Solution Design, Evaluation Consulting, Qualitative Insights, and Quantitative Insights. The company also operates a ChangeMaker Community for industry leaders. ILLUME serves utilities, regulators, and industry leaders across energy domains including demand-side management, distributed energy resources, grid modernization, electrification, and resiliency.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Energy Consulting Services Core consulting offering combining population models, market analyses, engineering, and building/data science to provide actionable insights for energy initiatives for utilities, regulators, and industry leaders.
• Human Insights Practice Area Combines research and strategic solutions to uncover nuances of human behavior, culture, and market dynamics, including market segmentation, multicultural research, and behavior-change research.
• Affordability, Access, and Resiliency Practice Area Consulting to advance policies and solutions fostering inclusion, accessibility, and resilience in energy systems, including priority population strategic consulting, baseline assessment, and community-integrated policy design.
• Emerging Opportunities Practice Area Helps clients identify, evaluate, and scale emerging technologies and innovations in energy efficiency, demand response, grid modernization, decarbonization, and distributed energy resources.
• Evaluation and Success Planning Practice Area Creates tailored evaluation studies and frameworks for policy and program objectives, including process evaluation, impact evaluation, program design, and evaluability support.
• Energy Domains Expertise Domain expertise spanning demand-side management, grid modernization, resiliency, beneficial electrification, demand response, distributed energy resources, electric vehicles, energy efficiency, renewables, storage, and transportation electrification.

Quantifiable outcome

• Conducted survey of 1,600 residential natural gas customers in the Northwest
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• E SourcecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2025E Source, a utilities-focused consulting and research company, acquired ILLUME Advising in May 2025 to broaden its energy consulting and research expertise. The acquisition strengthens E Source's position as a comprehensive solution partner for North American utility companies and involves ongoing integration of ILLUME's services and team.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• ADM Associates: Energy efficiency and demand-response evaluation, M&V, and market research firm. Comparable to ILLUME on impact evaluation, market characterization, and energy efficiency program consulting for utilities and state agencies.
• NMR Group: Specialized residential and commercial energy efficiency evaluation and market research firm. Comparable to ILLUME's Quantitative Insights practice area, including multi-state residential customer surveys and program-impact evaluations for utilities.
• Apex Analytics: Energy efficiency and demand-side management research firm focused on evaluation, market studies, and emerging technology assessments. Closely comparable to ILLUME's Evaluation and Emerging Opportunities practice areas serving utilities and program administrators.
• Opinion Dynamics: Energy efficiency research, evaluation, and market characterization firm serving utilities and program administrators. Highly comparable to ILLUME on process/impact evaluation and customer research methodology, with overlapping customer types like Massachusetts Program Administrators.
• Resource Innovations: Energy efficiency, equity, and decarbonization consulting firm serving utilities and state agencies. Overlaps with ILLUME on program design, equity strategy, and customer engagement for utilities pursuing energy-transition goals.
• Cadmus: Energy and environment consultancy with strong evaluation, equity, and policy practices. Comparable to ILLUME on program evaluation, environmental-justice advisory, and technical assistance to state energy offices and utilities.
• E Source: Utilities-focused research, consulting, and data firm that acquired ILLUME in May 2025. Operates an adjacent but overlapping utility advisory practice, with shared customers across North American investor-owned utilities and a complementary research/data stack.

Broad incumbents

• Guidehouse (formerly Navigant Consulting): Large global consultancy with a substantial energy, sustainability, and infrastructure practice serving utilities, regulators, and developers. Competes with ILLUME on strategy, program evaluation, and grid modernization engagements, but at materially greater scale and breadth.
• DNV: Independent energy expert and assurance provider serving utilities and regulators across power, renewables, and energy efficiency. Comparable to ILLUME's energy-domain coverage and policy/standards advisory work, with broader engineering and certification capabilities.
• ICF International: Major professional services firm with one of the largest utility energy efficiency and climate practices. Overlaps with ILLUME on energy program design, evaluation, and customer engagement for utilities and government clients.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/illume-advising-llc
• Xx.com/IllumeAdvising

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 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 ILLUME Advising