Page 16 - April 2018 Disruption Report Flip Book

ELECTRIC UTILITY SECTOR JAANPURAIRLY20210818
ELECTRIC UTILITY SECTOR
Will blockchain technology kill traditional utilities?
The utility industry is highly centralized and regulated, controlled regionally by a handful of big names such as Nextra Energy, Duke Energy,and Southern Co. While there are some 3,300 utilities in the U.S., some 200 provide power to the majority of U.S. consumers.
The rise in renewable and sustainable energy sources is pressuring regulators to create a more open and effecient market for consumers. Homeowners with solar power systems expect to sell their excess energy back to the grid. However, a number of energy providers are trying to eliminate the resale practice outright through lobbying and legal action.
Many believe that blockchain technology is a tool that can be used to disrupt the energy management industry by creating a more user-driven, peer-to-peer space. Startups like LO3 Energy are developing a distribution platform using blockchain that will revolutionize how energy can be efficiently generated, stored, bought, sold and used at the local level through the creation of local micogrids, particularly in densely populated areas. (Irish Tech News, Andrew Carroll, 04/03/18; LO3energy.com)
In Citi GPS’ Global Perspectives & Solutions, analysts Anthony Yuen, Edward L Morse, Adriana Knatchbull-Hugessen, Praful Mehta wrote:
The electricity system is undergoing a transformation from being a centralized grid to being a decentralized grid due to (1) the increase in electric vehicles (EVs) which require charging and potentially release electricity and (2) the shift in electricity generation to a more distributed model with an increase in rooftop solar and building-level energy storage solutions as well as distributed wind systems.
Managing this multi-way electricity flow and trade could be a daunting task for utilities, but blockchain could be used to facilitate EV charging and enable electricity trade to occur
not just at a regional level, but also at the local, or even building level. ‘Prosumers’, i.e., consumers who don’t just consume electricity but can also supply it back to the grid, could eventually “trade” energy with others in the form of “transactive energy.” Utilities are already developing ways to value these distributed energy resources (DERs) at the neighborhood level; and the value of electricity would differ depending on locations and also usage in order to value ancillary services.
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