coi energy solves a conundrum: letting businesses sell unused electricity — catch it at techcrunch disrupt 2025

The Inefficiency of Traditional Energy Allocation for Large Campuses

The current method of providing electricity to large organizations with multiple buildings is outdated. Unlike residential customers who are billed based on actual consumption, campuses typically purchase a fixed monthly capacity.

This capacity is invariably determined by peak demand, even if the organization rarely requires such high levels of power, such as during a particularly busy operational period.

The Genesis of COI Energy

This inherent inefficiency was a key concern for SaLisa Berrien, the founder and CEO of COI Energy. Holding both a mechanical engineering degree and an MBA, she accumulated 25 years of experience as an energy engineer at prominent utility companies including PECO, Con Edison, and Exelon, alongside roles in several clean energy startups.

Berrien’s motivation stemmed from personal experience. She recounted to TechCrunch how her family sometimes struggled to afford electricity during her childhood, leading to periods without power and impacting her self-esteem.

Upon entering the energy sector, she faced skepticism from peers. “They said it was a stagnant field, dominated by older white men,” she explained. However, her personal history fueled her desire to improve electricity access, affordability, and efficiency, ensuring no child would experience similar hardship.

From Energy Engineer to Entrepreneur

Berrien’s career involved work on customer operations, the development of smart grids, and the implementation of clean energy initiatives.

As an engineer, she routinely provided recommendations for enhancing the energy performance of buildings and resolving production bottlenecks.

She became proficient in leveraging big data for optimizing energy usage. However, a fundamental issue remained unaddressed: organizations were consistently reserving and paying for more energy than they actually utilized.

Customers frequently questioned the overcharges, prompting Berrien to ask, “Why can’t you simply pay for the energy you consume, on demand?”

COI Energy’s Innovative Solution

This question led to three patents (and more in progress) and the establishment of COI Energy. Berrien assembled a team with expertise in building management, energy engineering, and energy market regulations, as well as pricing strategies.

COI Energy has created a marketplace enabling enterprises within the same utility network to sell excess energy capacity when their needs are predicted to be lower.

The company is a finalist in the Startup Battlefield Top 20 and will present its technology at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 in San Francisco this week.

How COI Energy Works

COI Energy installs a proprietary energy gateway at each customer location to accurately measure energy consumption. This gateway integrates with existing building and SCADA systems.

The system is designed to be hardware-agnostic, ensuring compatibility with any existing utility or building energy infrastructure, according to Berrien.

After a data collection period, the platform forecasts a company’s true electricity requirements. “We can predict demand up to 90 days in advance,” she stated.

Enterprises can then decide how much unused energy to release. COI Energy compensates businesses for this capacity, and buyers on the marketplace pay COI to acquire it. “If a customer offers 100 kilowatts, we compensate them for it, and buyers purchase it from us.”

Funding and Current Status

Currently in its pre-seed stage, COI Energy has secured $3.5 million in funding from investors including Paul Farr (former Talen Energy executive), Morgan Stanley Inclusive and Sustainable Ventures, Kachuwa Impact Fund, Chloe Capital, and through crowdfunding on Republic.

The startup is already generating revenue through five pilot customers, each with at least 50 buildings. It currently operates in California, Florida, Massachusetts, and New York, and maintains a growing waitlist.

Furthermore, COI Energy is in discussions to become a solution provider for Switzerland as the country implements a national energy policy allowing capacity sharing between businesses and homes, starting in 2026.

A Commitment to Social Impact

Driven by her childhood experiences, Berrien has committed 1% of the savings generated by businesses on the platform to be donated to nonprofit organizations supporting underprivileged communities with their energy needs.

These organizations provide assistance with bill payments, weatherization services, and energy programs like solar installations.

“We’re paying it forward with what we call Kilowatt for Good,” Berrien explained.

Looking Ahead

Berrien’s vision is to provide a technology that addresses the challenges facing energy systems today. “By sharing capacity instead of wasting it, we’re improving the planet, enhancing our financial performance, and uplifting our communities,” she concluded.

To learn more about COI Energy and explore other innovative startups, attend the pitches and presentations at Disrupt, Monday to Wednesday, in San Francisco. Learn more here.