Pike Research has identified 10 key trends that are driving sweeping changes in the electric utility industry–from technologies and businesses to policy and consumer behavior.
“The electrical power grid is in the midst of a dramatic transformation,” says senior analyst Bob Gohn. “As utilities, vendors, and other key stakeholders gain more real-world deployment experience, the reality of the smart grid is coming into focus, too slowly for some, but at a faster pace than typically seen in this industry. Existing players are transforming, new players are entering, and consumers are awakening.”
Gohn adds that the months ahead should witness the maturation of the smart grid as all the trials, mandates, and pilots move toward production deployment.
The following predictions are included in a new white paper, “Smart Grid: Ten Trends to Watch in 2011 and Beyond”–available for free at the link below:
- Security will become the top smart grid concern
- Distribution Automation will rival AMI as the most visible smart grid application
- The “Bakersfield Effect” will continue, but some consumers will actually LIKE the smart grid
- Smart meter and AMI focus will shift toward Europe and China
- The “Year of the HAN” will not arrive… yet
- The Demand Response business transformation will accelerate
- The ARRA smart grid “stimulus” will finally have a positive impact
- The standards “horse” will begin to catch the deployment “cart”
- Data management will be the next bottleneck to smart grid benefits
- Existing data and telecom vendors will get serious about the smart grid
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