Time-of-use

We Made Light Free

As inexpensive as lighting was, twenty years ago, we’ve since made it close to free. Too cheap to meter?

Will lighting drop to a tenth of residential consumption, then below? Every use of a machine, appliance, device shrunk in its significance to the household budget.

The Price is Right?

Demand response on appeal before the U.S. Supreme Court.

It could well be that demand response results in a more stable pricing environment that seems less risky to investors.

There and Back Again

Why a residential demand rate developed 40 years ago is increasingly relevant today.

Why not design a rate that allocates the higher system cost to customers based on their actual energy demand?

Playing Offense with EVs

How much of a $100 billion market in electric vehicles can utilities capture – or afford not to?

Electric transportation can be the utility sector’s growth engine — $100 billion or more per year — if the industry embraces the opportunities ahead.

Smart by Default

Time-varying rates from the get-go – not just by opt-in.

Default enrollment for time-varying rates, with an opt-out, will reduce peak demand and far more than a default flat rate with a TVR opt-in.

From ISO to DSO

Imagining a new construct – an independent system operator for the distribution network.

A new utility industry construct – the Distribution System Operator (DSO) – could help maximize the benefits of distributed energy resources.

DSM: Don’t Stop Maximizing

Useful analytics to improve program performance.

Turning interval meter data into analytics to improve program performance for demand-side management.

Energiewende

Nuclear fear and Germany’s headlong plunge into renewable energy.

On a recent trip to Germany to study the country’s energy policy, the phrase “energy transition,” or “energiewende” as the Germans say, was on everyone’s mind.

AMI Logjam

Market forces and fickle policies have delayed the smart meter revolution.

Low energy prices have weakened the business case for advanced metering. Regaining momentum might depend on innovation to strengthen the benefits.

Accentuate the Positive

A practical guide to explaining the value of the smart grid.

Despite challenges, grid modernization is paying off for customers. Smart grid progress depends on clarifying the vision and communicating value.