The media's favorite, new energy story centers on how traditional utilities are panicking over the ever-shrinking pool of customers created by on-site renewable generation and energy efficiency. Now the New York Times has also jumped on the bandwagon. This is it utility friends, change or die!
The smart companies are finding new niche markets that will secure their longevity. The stupid companies are wasting a whole bunch of money trying to lobby solar out of existence. Do I have to start handing out my own series of Utility Darwin Awards?
I'm so happy that the media has now picked up on something we wrote in June 2012. In comments to the FERC, consumer groups put utilities on notice:
"Because transmission is such a long-term asset, we must be extremely mindful of how new projects relate to each other to achieve comprehensive energy policy goals. If we continue to approach transmission as a hodgepodge, knee-jerk reaction to serve short-term goals and provide sustainable revenue streams to investor-owned utilities, we risk setting ourselves up for a possible future where a huge investment in transmission becomes the financial responsibility of a shrinking pool of ratepayers. Technological advances and affordability are making it possible for an increasing number of consumers to produce their own power and feed it into the local distribution grid by making their own smart, fuel-free, power producing investments. Energy efficiency and demand management gains continue to shatter future demand projections, further decreasing the need for billions of dollars of investment in new transmission infrastructure."
It only took just over a year to get this observation mainstreamed into the pages of the New York Times. Perhaps NYT isn't getting timely information while worshipping at the alter of for-profit utilities?
The smart companies are finding new niche markets that will secure their longevity. The stupid companies are wasting a whole bunch of money trying to lobby solar out of existence. Do I have to start handing out my own series of Utility Darwin Awards?
I'm so happy that the media has now picked up on something we wrote in June 2012. In comments to the FERC, consumer groups put utilities on notice:
"Because transmission is such a long-term asset, we must be extremely mindful of how new projects relate to each other to achieve comprehensive energy policy goals. If we continue to approach transmission as a hodgepodge, knee-jerk reaction to serve short-term goals and provide sustainable revenue streams to investor-owned utilities, we risk setting ourselves up for a possible future where a huge investment in transmission becomes the financial responsibility of a shrinking pool of ratepayers. Technological advances and affordability are making it possible for an increasing number of consumers to produce their own power and feed it into the local distribution grid by making their own smart, fuel-free, power producing investments. Energy efficiency and demand management gains continue to shatter future demand projections, further decreasing the need for billions of dollars of investment in new transmission infrastructure."
It only took just over a year to get this observation mainstreamed into the pages of the New York Times. Perhaps NYT isn't getting timely information while worshipping at the alter of for-profit utilities?
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