Leadership with technology can bring dramatic change
A large US utility is changing to meet market demand!
Consider this statement issued by one of the largest utilities in the US:
“The 2010s version is, you’ve got big players, a single project for the entire need. It’s an old-school utility procurement,” said Josh Tom, National Grid’s director of energy transition solutions. “It’s a closed system, not accessible to everyone. And it can take a long time.”
These slow, burdensome, and costly approaches have yielded only a handful of successful projects over the years. National Grid’s new program, by contrast, is built around a marketplace platform into which companies can bid resources ranging from big batteries to lots of smart thermostats.
They just BLEW UP their business model. Utilities in the US already have competition for power and gas supply. Their last exclusive service (monopoly) was in the distribution of electricity and gas.
This utility, National Grid, recognizes that it cannot solve the distribution problem without adding to its other problem, which is cost.
So, what is the alternative? Yankee ingenuity, good old competition, or market response. National Grid is seeking to allow the utility to dispatch or control battery chargers, home generators, EVs, solar panels, and any generation or larger demand loads (big appliances). They will not own or pay for these sources, therefore they will have little cost. However, by increasing power supply for short periods of time or decreasing demand, they are looking to relieve peak congestion and pricing.
Realgy congratulates National Grid on its focus on addressing and helping to solve all related problems.
Realgy Energy Services is a registered Retail Energy Marketer serving commercial customers in the states of Illinois, and Indiana. We offer Service Plans that will provide electric and natural gas at wholesale pricing direct to customers without any utility markup. Our Service Plans work with the local utility to provide seamless service and annual energy savings. Service Plans include Guaranteed SavingsTM, ManagedPriceTM, ManagedGreenTM Index, Fixed and PriceAssuranceTM.
Realgy owns and operates 11 solar plants in Illinois and is looking to invest in additional locations. Soon to be 12 with the inclusion of Highland Park newest recreation center West Ridge Center – New Community Recreation Facility Coming in 2026 | Park District of Highland Park
Additional Information:
Massachusetts tries a market for distributed energy to… | Canary Media
Capitalism Will Win Over Government Intervention.
CAPITALism
In theory, markets (demand for a product along with price, service, and convenience) set the price. To operate efficiently, competition is required. Few markets face more competition than the power markets in the US.
Recently, the government has interfered with not only the theory, but the practice, of power markets. Examples include requiring certain power plants to continue to operate, requiring certain customers to receive wholesale power rates, or casting aside environmental or societal benefits to favor a different fuel.
However, as has been said, capitalism is the most powerful force ever unleashed.
In this current example, the government has dictated that coal plants continue to operate instead of retiring as planned. The result: power prices are staying high, and the expense of continued operation of these decrepit facilities is adding to electric price inflation. No investment is being made in them, rather just short-term fixes to meet the government demand to keep them operating.
Being displaced, as electric demand is being met by the coal plants, are numerous built and planned power plants that could operate at lower cost and with lower environmental impact (which is a cost).
The companies operating these coal plants are not confused. They understand it is a political action, which too shall pass.
Capitalism will win.
Realgy Energy Services is a registered Retail Energy Marketer serving commercial customers in the states of Illinois and Indiana. We offer Service Plans that provide electric and natural gas at wholesale pricing directly to customers without any utility markup. Our Service Plans work with the local utility to provide seamless service and annual energy savings. Service Plans include Guaranteed Savings™, ManagedPrice™, ManagedGreen™ Index, Fixed, and PriceAssurance™.
Realgy owns and operates 11 solar plants in Illinois and is looking to invest in additional locations. Soon to be 12 with the inclusion of Highland Park’s newest recreation center, West Ridge Center,- New Community Recreation Facility Coming in 2026 | Park District of Highland Park
Additional Information:
Trump is keeping coal on life support. How long can it last? | Grist
Solar and wind are meeting — and exceeding — new power demand
Global electric demand grew last year. Probably not a surprise given the energy demands coming from AI (artificial intelligence) and data centers.
However, unless you are in the energy business or closely follow economic news, you might be surprised to learn what is supplying that growing electric power demand.
If you were listening to business news or momentum investing, startups in nuclear energy went up 200–300 percent. Fossil fuel generation declined across all geographies. In the US, utilities in high-demand regions (where data centers are being built) went up due to their monopoly on delivering power, while independent power generators went up twice as fast
As the chart above shows, power demand grew and was primarily met with wind and solar. This is not news in the energy industry.
Shows like Land Man (Netflix) promote the fossil fuel industry’s gripes against wind and solar, but the reality is they are the least-cost option for supplying electricity in almost all markets.
Realgy Energy Services is a registered Retail Energy Marketer serving commercial customers in the states of Illinois, and Indiana. We offer Service Plans that will provide electric and natural gas at wholesale pricing direct to customers without any utility markup. Our Service Plans work with the local utility to provide seamless service and annual energy savings. Service Plans include Guaranteed SavingsTM, ManagedPriceTM, ManagedGreenTM Index, Fixed and PriceAssuranceTM.
Realgy owns and operates 11 solar plants in Illinois and is looking to invest in additional locations. Soon to be 12 with the inclusion of Highland Park newest recreation center West Ridge Center – New Community Recreation Facility Coming in 2026 | Park District of Highland Park
Additional Information:
Chart: Solar and wind are meeting — and exceeding —… | Canary Media
