COI Energy solves a conundrum: Letting businesses sell unused electricity — catch it at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025

For power supply to large enterprises with multi-building campuses, the allocation system is archaic. Unlike homeowners, who pay for what they actually use, campuses purchase a standard monthly capacity. This capacity must, as common sense requires, be based on maximum utilization requirements. This is true even if the company only uses such peaks infrequently, such as a single busy season.

It was a situation that annoyed the hell out of me COI power Founder and CEO, Salisa Berian. After earning a degree in mechanical engineering (and later an MBA), he spent 25 years as an energy engineer at major utility companies such as PECO, Con Edison, and Exelon, as well as several clean energy startups.

Berrien chose this field because, as a child, there were times when his parents could not pay their electric bills. “We were in a lot of darkness. And as a kid, I had low self-esteem,” he told TechCrunch. Other kids who knew about his condition used to tease him.

So when she got her degree and took a job at an electric company, “all my friends were like, ‘You’re crazy. It’s a stagnant field. It’s a white, male-dominated, older-male field. Why are you doing this?’ And for me, it was personal, because I knew what it felt like to be a kid,” he said. Berrien wanted to make electricity more efficient, more affordable, more available so that no child is ever left without.

He has worked on customer operations, smart grid, clean energy programs.

“As an engineer, I go out there and recommend how they can improve the energy performance of their buildings, how they can eliminate bottlenecks in the production line,” Berrien said.

He learned how to use big data to optimize energy efficiency. But no one was addressing the fundamental problem: Companies were saving and paying for far more energy than they were using.

Commercial customers constantly asked him why they were being overcharged. “I agree,” she said. “Why can’t you pay on demand for what you use?”

Berrien’s answer led to three patents (and counting) and the founding of COI Energy on that technology, assembling a team that included building management, energy engineers and a former energy exec. He hired people skilled in everything from regulation to pricing.

COI’s solution is a marketplace where enterprises within the same utility company can sell some of their energy allocation when COI’s data predicts they won’t need it. COI is a Startup battlefield The top 20 finalists and their techs will be pitched TechCrunch Disrupt 2025This week in San Francisco.

COI installs a patented Energy Gateway at each customer site to measure energy consumption. It is related to building systems and SCADA systems. It’s hardware-agnostic, meaning it can work with any existing utility or building energy system, Berrien said. After collecting data over a period of time, the platform predicts how much electricity a company will actually need. “We can predict 90 days out,” he said.

The enterprise can then determine how much unused energy it wants to release. COI pays businesses for that ability and market buyers pay COI to get it “If a customer gives us 100 kilowatts, we’ll pay them for that 100 kilowatts and then customers will buy it from us.”

COI is still in its pre-seed stage, having raised $3.5 million from investors like former Talen Energy exec Paul Farr, Morgan Stanley Inclusive and Sustainable Ventures, Kachuwa Impact Fund, Chloe Capital, and some of Republic’s crowdfunding.

However, the startup is already generating revenue through five pilot customers, all of whom have a minimum of 50 buildings. It is operating in California, Florida, Massachusetts and New York and has a waiting list. Also, Berrien said, COI is in talks to become a solution provider in Switzerland as it enacts a national energy policy in which businesses and homes can share power starting in 2026.

Moreover — remembering her plight as a little girl — Berrien’s startup platform has dedicated 1% of the savings it earns to donate to non-profit organizations that help the underprivileged with their energy needs. These are organizations that help pay bills, provide weatherization, and offer energy programs like solar.

“We’re pushing it forward with what we call kilowatts for good,” Berrien said.

His mission is to offer technology that helps the now overwhelmed energy system. “Instead of wasting energy, you’re sharing it. So we’re making the planet better. We’re making our bottom lines better. And then at the same time, we’re helping and improving our communities,” he said.

If you want to learn more about COI Energy from the company — as well as check out dozens of others, hear their pitches and listen to guest speakers on four different stages — join us at Disrupt, Monday through Wednesday in San Francisco. Learn more here.