Dive Summary:
- Distributed energy is no doubt chipping away profit margins for conventional utilities, reports the MIT Technology Review. The question is, will utilities adapt new business models quickly enough to take advantage of the changing market?
- Distributed energy includes rooftop solar panels, natural gas generators at homes and businesses, plug-in electric vehicles, and technologies to reduce electricity use. Distributed energy can do to electric utility industry what wireless handheld technology has done to the telecom industry, says Paul DeCotis, vice president of power markets at Long Island Power Authority.
- Right now, regulated electricity is keeping utilities above water. But as sales flat line and grid upgrades inflate expenses, deregulation will make distributed energy even more viable for customers.
From the article:
"...The basic funding mechanism for utilities needs to change so they have financial incentives to enable adoption of new technologies and encourage customer energy efficiency. Many changes along those lines could be a tough sell in the utility industry, which is famously conservative. But they may not have a choice. 'Distributed generation is something that couldn’t be stopped even if we wanted to, says Zarakas."