December 12th, 2010
As frequent readers know, we’ve long championed consumer engagement with the smart grid via durable remunerative incentives. We believe lasting engagement will only truly be cemented by giving consumers transactional capabilities with the smart grid. There is, however, another aspect that we have been watching and – to shine some light on it – we’re […]
Read more »A Smart Grid Defined: “One That Empowers Consumers…”
November 24th, 2010
Courtesy of The Atlantic, a clarion cry for a smart grid that is defined not in what it might offer interest groups, or why it’s a “good idea” for utilities, but in how it will empower consumers to save energy and money, encourage innovation in technology and markets, and create a stable atmosphere for investment […]
Read more »November 18th, 2010
Courtesy of Clean Techies, an interesting article on the power of energy consumers, specifically the need to engage consumers or risk watching the home energy management & energy information display industries fall flat. Of course, we have long championed the need to engage consumers – this article gets close when it says “…onsumers might start […]
Read more »Utilities In The Dark Over Customer Engagement?
November 12th, 2010
A triumvirate of articles all focused on “how can utilities get customers engaged with the smart grid?” I’ll highlight the noticeable sections of each below, but doesn’t it strike readers that this question is posed backwards? Rather than having utilities determine how to “engage” customers with the smart grid, perhaps giving customers a reason to […]
Read more »November 8th, 2010
Courtesy of The Economist, a look at utilities’ efforts to turn their “dumb” infrastructures into something more like a central nervous system: “…LONDON’S streets can be a bit of a maze, but below ground things are even more complex. Water pipes crisscross the city in all directions. Some areas used to have competing water companies, […]
Read more »Smart Grids Require Smart Prices
October 14th, 2010
Courtesy of The Harvard Business Review blog, an interesting comment on the importance of dynamic retail pricing. As readers know, we are advocates of fully functioning “smart markets” to activate smart grids and smart meter deployments, and this regulator’s views are at least a step in that direction. As the article notes: “…Electric utilities need […]
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