Prior to Parks Associates’ 10th-annual Smart Energy Summit, in Austin, Advisory Board member and conference speaker Emmett Romine, SVP Business Development at Powerley, shared insights on how utilities integrate smart home and distributed energy resources into the grid.

Emmett will be participating on the Driving Energy Efficient Consumer Behavior: Reporting and Analytics session on Tuesday, February 19, at 8:30 AM. Panelists joining him on this session include:

Scott Burns, Head of Innovation and Customer Experience, Reliant
V Rory Jones, SVP, Franklin Energy
Paul McDonald, Director, Solution Architecture, Oracle Utilities

How can energy providers move the energy management market forward?
A key opportunity is to partner with regulators to update measurement methodologies and to recognize that energy management tools are an extension of traditional electric utility services. The concept of receiving a bill once a month for feedback on use is outdated and does not align with the 21st century consumer. Utilities need to own and provide this service and if regulators will work with them on developing this service, consumers will become better educated and informed on their own consumption.

How can utilities integrate smart home and distributed energy resources into the grid?
Smart home and distributed resources will come together as they are complementary in nature. Just as regulators determined that the distribution of electricity is a natural monopoly in the early 20th century, it is likely that there is the same barrier to entry that is preventing wider adoption of these grid optimizing tools. Lack of standards cause higher installation costs and higher installation prevents wider adoption. Utilities can provide the market for these tools and should be encouraged to market these tools to home owners, similar to the way cable providers market Wi-Fi on their cable modems today.