Consumers Demand a Part in Energy Future

Consumers will demand to have more involvement in the energy industry in coming years, posing fresh challenges for utilities servicing the market, a new report says.

A recently released IBM Global Business Services report shows consumers are becoming increasingly savvy about climate change and possible ways they can feed power back into the grid, marking a "tipping point" which will demand change from utilities around the world.

IBM global energy and utilities industry leader Michael Valocchi says utilities will have the next five years to change, by which time the consumer market will be expecting to have more involvement in the grid.

"Utility companies need to revisit long-held beliefs about how to best serve customers and make fundamental changes to their strategies and operations in preparation for a more participatory environment," Valocchi says.

Technological advances such as smart meters, network automation and analytics and distributed generation – all of which lead to an "intelligent" utility network that leverages network automation and analytics - will allow the industry to meet these consumer needs, according to IBM.

The technology giant surveyed 1,900 consumers from Australia, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, the UK and US, and 100 industry executives from 26 different countries for the study.

It shows consumers would be interested in generating their own electricity if it led to 50 percent savings with 100 percent reliability at no additional cost, or if they could sell power back into the grid.

More than half the executives surveyed say this could be a reality in the next decade as new technologies come on line.

"They [consumers] want more choices about the type of energy they buy, and they want to more actively manage their usage to reduce costs and environmental impact," Valocchi says.

By Penny Jones