What will Energy Storage do to the Utility and Energy Marketer?
Is your Utility, that regulated monopoly that delivers your energy (natural gas, electricity, even water), ready to continue to evolve.
In many states, the local Utility has adjusted to allowing customer to choose their energy provider. In these state; the Utility continues to provide the distribution of the energy while the energy marketer provides the power to the Utility.
Consider if you install solar photovoltaic (PV) panels you are generating electric power (small scale power plant). Multiply a single PV decision by thousand then millions of people installing PV. The power generated by these PV system reduces the daytime energy needed to be distributed by the Utility (reducing their revenues). However what happens if you add a storage battery to each PV site?
The answer could upend the current Utility and energy marketing model. As the storage battery allows the user to decide when to use the power and when to charge the battery. The user could allow the Utility or energy marketer to manage this choice. The result; the user or customer has a lower bill.
PV with battery storage has been around a long time. However, current and forecasted advancements in the technology has made their adoption (due to cost advantages) more likely.
The future Utility, energy marketer and customer relationships will continue to unfold. Hopefully, the regulators allow the markets to find their equilibrium.
Realgy Energy Services is a registered Retail Energy Marketer in the states of Illinois, Michigan 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.
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