Back in 2015, David Roberts wrote in Vox that “power utilities are built for the 20th century. That’s why they’re flailing in the 21st.” Sadly, seven years later, little has changed. Or, at least, they haven’t changed yet, although the Inflation Reduction Act promises to radically alter the utility landscape with funding to help meet decarbonization efforts and meet rising energy demand. As Roberts put it, “the 20th-century ‘hub and spoke’ grid was built to be big, dumb, and one-way only, producing electricity at central-station power plants and spilling it through lines into consumer homes and businesses.”
Read more to learn the opportunities that DER technologies present to utilities, from enhanced grid resilience and customer satisfaction to lower energy spending.