Bottom Line – Distribution grid automation will continue, at an accelerating pace. But for those who can enable energy efficiency they have a market place today.

The energy industry is facing an uncertain future. According to the International Energy Agency, worldwide energy demand will increase by more than 50 percent by 2030. This is an opportunity for innovative entrepreneurs. However, the huge sums being invested into Cleantech[1] notwithstanding, technology invention in and of itself is not sufficient. Rather, technology is an enabler of innovation. In many cases, the technologies that may help solve energy and environmental issues are not new. What's new is how mature technology, often developed for solutions in other industries, may be used to generate tangible benefits for energy providers and consumers.

Little needs to be said about the growing demand for ways to incorporate clean energy. The challenge for any and all clean energy technology stakeholders, both those with the solution and (in most cases) their willing prospects is that the energy industry is heavily vertically integrated.

Energy flows one way, information about the use of that energy, except how much, is barely collected and any innovation has to meet monolithic requirements, since it would have to offer a near replacement solution to some part of the power grid.

Thus, for renewable energy to thrive the generation industry must change from a model of integrated power creation to delivery to one which relies on the efficient accurate exchange in intelligence to match supply to demand without compromising the quality of the power rendered.  The challenge for utilities is where to begin? 

For an early stage or growth stage entrepreneur to rely on the utility industry reach the “tipping point” where they could usefully apply SaaS solutions to leverage their smart grid provided data is to invite frustration and delay! Instead, the entrepreneur should look at solutions that either do not rely on the smart grid to perform, or can deliver a tangible benefit without a substantial utility investment. In practice that means either enabling active participation by consumers in their energy consumption. Which might mean direct load control and where the incentive exists shaving peak loads in response to a price signal.

In practice, as this EIA study of residential energy consumption illustrates,

In summary, the opportunity that is both immediate and plays to the application of information technology to improve the efficiency of energy consumption is offering easy options for consumers to manage their electricity use and costs.

An additional value added service would be power quality monitoring. A typical household has invested more than $30,000 in durable goods powered by electricity. The effective useful life of these appliances is reliant in equal measure on how they are maintained and the quality of the power they consume. The characteristics of the power delivered by the utility can affect the total monthly cost of power by upto 10%. Voltage surges and lags as well as frequency fluctuations will impact the durability of a household’s appliances. These factors are multiplied when the consumer is broadly defined. Businesses with multiple commercial locations have few options to centrally measure power quality and appliance performance, making it impossible to plan for timely repair and replacement.  Thus, reducing appliance lifetime ROI and creating the potential of customer dissatisfaction due to appliance failure.

In conclusion. The opportunity today is a platform which analyzes power consumed at the point of consumption sold because it keeps control over the consumer durable out of the hands of a utility while still enabling the ratepayer to opt in to responding to the price or supply of power. If the entrepreneur wants to partner with the utility, by taking away direct utility control over large appliances, this solution can be implemented in such a way that it complements existing utility investments in AMR/AMI, and any meter data management solution already implemented. And, so will face fewer hurdles to widespread adoption.