utility of the future Archives

Nov 30

Smart Grid Segmentation – Taking on the Dumb Meter Activists

By Jeff Ihnen Energy Rant No Comments

I have written several times about smart grid hype; in particular about a year ago in Deaf and Mute Smart Meter. In that post, I described how utilities could truly treat demand response as a resource by using smart meter data, predictive consumption, and giving customers the power of their smart phone or tablet to participate in the infamous “utility of the future”. Customers want engagement, and they want control. Touché. A recent edition of Public Utilities Fortnightly (subscription) explained that indeed the smart grid is in a coma (my term). The title of the article is Smart Grid Isn’t Dead, but upon reading…

Apr 01

Love0

Utility of the Future; Rebates for Load Building Anyone?

By Jeff Ihnen Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant, Utility Stuff One Comment

The source of this week’s post about the utility of the future is this Utility Dive article about Pacific Gas and Electric’s proposed incentives for electric vehicles. The article made me think of this: liberals think big business is evil and conservatives think big government is evil. Both are right to a large extent. Oooh. In my opinion, libertarians are most correct fearing crony capitalism as the unholy alliance between big government and big business. A primary role of government is to ensure citizens are protected from fraud, embezzlement, collusion, and the seven deadly sins. Hens and little people are…