Before speaking at Parks Associates' Smart Energy Summit: Engaging the Consumer in Austin, Gene Wang, CEO at People Power, answered several key questions on current and future trends within the energy industry:

What are the barriers to bringing together a broad ecosystem of smart home products that work together as an energy management system?

Different manufacturers with different agendas, lots of protocols and standards, different communication rates, data policies that disadvantage service providers.

What are the biggest opportunities for the smart home industry to work with the utility industry?

Utilities can launch consumer engaging revenue generating IoT services under their own brand.

How has the smart home created new service opportunities for energy providers?

Utilities are perfectly positioned to extend their offerings into the home so they can remain successful as renewables and competition continue to grow.

How will broad adoption of smart home products and services impact energy providers?

Innovative energy providers will attract more consumers to a range of smart home services that become indispensable like electricity is today. Slow moving utilities will be disconnected from their consumers by fast moving Internet companies who disintermediate them.

How will energy providers expand the energy monitoring services market?

By offering services that are appealing in the daily lives of the mass consumer market.

Gene will be part of the special Smart Energy Summit session on February 21, "Special Session: Expanding the 24/7 Consumer Relationship with IoT," at 12:00 PM. For more information on the full agenda, visit www.ses2018.com.