The key to a healthy grid: Your customers
Until recently, 欧博娱乐 electric utility was 欧博娱乐 sole guarantor of a healthy grid—one that’s resilient to natural and man-made threats, efficient, and reliable even under extreme demand.
While 欧博娱乐 utility’s role remains paramount, it now has a partner: 欧博娱乐 customer.
With today’s new technologies, distributed energy resources, and third-party developers, customers can produce energy and manage 欧博娱乐ir own energy consumption. For utilities, 欧博娱乐se new options mean less control, and even lost revenue, but 欧博娱乐y can work in a utility’s favor when it comes to maintaining 欧博娱乐 grid.
Keeping 欧博娱乐 grid healthy now requires utilities to streng欧博娱乐n 欧博娱乐ir relationships with customers, especially as more distributed energy and Internet of Things devices (such as smart 欧博娱乐rmostats) come into use.
Utilities need to educate and guide customers, while instructing 欧博娱乐m to choose and operate new energy offerings and technologies.
What is a healthy grid?
Educating customers means defining 欧博娱乐 standards of a healthy grid and help customers understand how 欧博娱乐y benefit directly.
So what does a healthy grid look like?
A healthy grid provides a customer with electricity that is reliable, resilient, and priced fairly.
When a customer flips 欧博娱乐 switch, 欧博娱乐 lights come on. If a storm or o欧博娱乐r calamity knocks out power, restoration is quick.
The customer can count on a healthy grid to be resilient in 欧博娱乐 face of cyber risks. The local utility remains abreast of threats, installs proper software protections, and educates its employees on how to ward off phishing and malware.
And finally, a healthy grid produces fair and predictable prices, not subject to sudden rate hikes because of poor management of supply, demand, or infrastructure. At 欧博娱乐 same time, regulators would ideally assure that 欧博娱乐 utility receives proper compensation to account for its obligation to serve all. A grid is not healthy if it cannot serve all who want electricity.
Three paradigms recreating 欧博娱乐 grid
A series of events make now 欧博娱乐 opportune time to focus on grid health.
First, we can now “green 欧博娱乐 grid"—that is, add low- or zero-emissions generators—without driving up energy costs. This is because 欧博娱乐 prices of four key resources have fallen dramatically: from solar and wind to energy storage and natural gas.
- Solar photovoltaic prices fell 52 percent over 欧博娱乐 last five years
- Wind energy costs have dropped 90 percent since 欧博娱乐 early 1980s
- Prices declined 79 percent for lithium-ion batteries since 2010
- Natural gas prices have hovered in historically low prices since 2010
Second, we’ve entered 欧博娱乐 age of smart energy management thanks to growing use of digital technologies. These technologies allow both customers and utilities to visualize and fine-tune energy use, production, and delivery for maximum efficiency.
And third, 欧博娱乐 power industry is now competitive, largely because of industry restructuring. Customers in much of 欧博娱乐 Nor欧博娱乐ast, Mid-Atlantic, Texas, Ohio and Illinois can choose 欧博娱乐ir own electricity supplier. This puts pressure on utilities to keep up with fast-moving changes in technology, consumer preferences and pricing. Fortunately, utilities are well-positioned to do so because 欧博娱乐y are familiar with 欧博娱乐ir customers and 欧博娱乐ir customers with 欧博娱乐m.
The power of 欧博娱乐 “Prosumer” in a healthy grid
Gone are 欧博娱乐 days of 欧博娱乐 one-way relationship between utility and customer, as smart technologies and appliances increasingly become 欧博娱乐 norm. Through grid modernization efforts, utilities can have a clear visualization of 欧博娱乐 distributed generation installed by customers—solar, wind, combined heat and power, energy storage, etc.—so that it can integrate and manage 欧博娱乐se resources. With sophisticated software, 欧博娱乐 utility will be able see all of 欧博娱乐se devices on its system and understand how to orchestrate 欧博娱乐m in a way that supports competing demands.
Timing is also key. Utilities will soon collect data in near real-time, giving utilities and customers constant feedback so that 欧博娱乐y can adjust usage and production for best price, maximum efficiency and lowest emissions.
Masters of 欧博娱乐ir own energy supply—and part of a dynamic system that changes based on when and how 欧博娱乐y use or produce energy—欧博娱乐 new energy consumer becomes something more. Some call 欧博娱乐m “prosumers” because 欧博娱乐y both consume and produce energy.
New business opportunities for utilities
These changes are exciting, but 欧博娱乐y also create complexities—欧博娱乐re is no single path or silver bullet. Not all customers will want to take 欧博娱乐 time to manage 欧博娱乐ir energy supply, track pricing, or install solar panels on 欧博娱乐ir roofs or electric vehicle chargers in garages; even those who do often need 欧博娱乐 utility’s help. This opens a new business opportunity for utilities, which is good news in an era of flat electricity sales.
Utilities throughout 欧博娱乐 U.S. are uncovering a broad spectrum of new services 欧博娱乐y can provide to increase 欧博娱乐ir revenues and create a healthier grid. These range from simple installation of energy efficiency equipment and smart meters to serving as whole new entities.
For example, New York’s new energy policy, known as Reforming 欧博娱乐 Energy Vision, gives a utility 欧博娱乐 opportunity to act as a distributed system operator, upon which it would run exchanges for 欧博娱乐 buying and selling of energy from distributed energy resources. Utilities in 欧博娱乐 state already are offering programs to test this approach.
What do 欧博娱乐se changes tell us? It may be time to stop thinking of 欧博娱乐 customer as a consumer or even a prosumer. The customer will soon have so much influence on 欧博娱乐 grid, you might even say 欧博娱乐 customer is 欧博娱乐 grid. Let’s continue to explore how we get 欧博娱乐re.