Article | 2010
Keeping the Lights On while Transforming Electric Utilities
Electric utilities operate now much as they did a century ago—but the environment in which they operate is changing dramatically. Now more than ever before, utilities whose regulators reward them in the traditional way for selling more electricity risk losing revenue as customers use their electricity more efficiently. Responding to these disruptive forces requires a shift to a fundamentally new paradigm of electricity generation and use. This article discusses the new electricity paradigm that is based on energy efficiency, demand response, renewables, energy storage, and distributed generation.