For over a century, the electric utility industry has remained mostly unchanged, with the simple goal of supplying safe and reliable electricity to end customers. But with the advancement in technologies and the evolving preferences of customers, the industry is undergoing a significant transformation.
In the past, New York Energy Week has covered both the benefits and downfalls of this metamorphosis. The 2014 Solar Breakfast discussed the potential risk rooftop solar poses to the electric utility industry, by creating a so-called “death spiral,” as the result of upending the traditional business model of utilities. Con Edison’s Colin Smart wrote on our blog last year about how utilities and consumers can both prepare for and build a smarter grid. And the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) described how New York policymakers and energy industry stakeholders are working to make the grid more resilient, secure, and reliable, right in our own backyard.
There is disagreement about how this disruption ultimately affects the electric utility industry. Some stakeholders and industry observers believe that utilities functioning within antiquated structures will fail to adapt to the challenges posed by distributed energy resources, energy efficiency technologies, and regulatory and market reforms. Others believe that the electric utility business model is ripe for an overhaul, and a comprehensive transformation of the industry will produce a more dynamic and responsive grid, which will provide cleaner, safer, more reliable, and cheaper energy.
With this issue at the forefront of the future of this industry, we’ll be kicking off New York Energy Week with an event entitled “Achieving the Next Generation Electric Utility: Enabling the Transformation to a Dynamic Energy Future.” Our panelists will include Caroline Angoorly, Kenneth Daly, and Walter Rojowsky, with Zack Pollock of PA Consulting Group moderating. The event will explore a range of issues, including: the overhauling of the utility business model, key lessons learned from market and regulatory reforms, and how technology drives potential outcomes.
