Dive Summary:
- Microgrids, or smaller independent power grids, are gaining among big and small facilities interested in self-reliant, more affordable energy. The microgrid market is expected to boom to $40 billion annually by 2020.
- Utilities might get left in the dust. That is unless utilities “actively encourage microgrid development and seek to integrate it into their business models as a low-cost way of ensuring reliability,” argues Chris Nelder, an energy analyst and author of ‘Profit from the Peak’.
- “If they (utilities) try to foist their stranded asset and network maintenance costs on a declining user base, it could prove counterproductive by pushing more consumers to consider microgrids.”
From the article:
“Instead of delivering as much power as possible at the lowest possible cost, they (utilities) should refocus on delivering the service levels customers want, with appropriate dynamic pricing mechanisms.”