Power pressures
How is technology changing the ways in which power is generated, distributed and conserved?
OWASSO — Oklahoma’s investorowned utilities and electric cooperatives are getting squeezed by innovation.
Regulators and ratepayers expect them to increasingly use various sources of renewable energy as those become more abundant and their costs continue to fall.
At the same time, they face increased potential competition from distributed energy sources that are owned by consumers, such as rooftop solar and battery storage systems.
Topping it off, demand growth for future load continues to fall as efficiencies continue to improve for all manners of household appliances and industrial machines.
These competing pressures are quickly impacting how the utilities and cooperatives pursue their neverending mission of providing affordable power to their customers that’s still reliable.
Old paradigms won’t suffice, said Steve Fine, a vice president at ICF.
Fine, part of a global consulting firm that works with companies across numerous fields to help solve complex problems in an increasingly digital world, will discuss the issue Wednesday at an annual gathering held here by the Association of Energy Engineers and the Oklahoma Renewable Energy Council.
Managing load
Fine said utilities used to address load concerns by building out robust systems of nuclear, coal and large, combined-cycle natural gas plants that, together with peaking plants, were designed to handle variable customer loads. At the same time, they also encouraged customers to take part in voluntary reduction programs designed to both lower energy usage as well as encourage shifts in power usage to nonpeak periods.
Now, however, it has become more about managing existing load.
“It is not your grandfather’s energy efficiency program anymore,” Fine said.
“You can always have policy pushes one way or another, but the sheer technological innovation that is going on in solar, wind and storage, they are moving into the market on a utility scale and also are offering consumers increasingly economical choices on the distributive side of things.”
Consumer-level storage and solar installations give utilities and cooperatives something to consider, as do technological optimizations brought by smart meters that could enable utilities to control electrical consumption levels of specific types of systems or appliances within a customer’s home, where allowed.
For example, Fine said it might one day be possible for a utility to adjust one customer’s thermostat a couple of degrees for a couple of minutes during the heat of the day to reduce load, then do the same thing with a next-door neighbor’s system.
On the horizon
If that were done across an entire neighborhood, community or system, it would provide a way for a utility or cooperative to manage its load with little or no notice from its customers. While Fine said those capabilities are not yet a reality in most parts of the country, he said they are coming.
“There are a lot of benefits that managed loads as a whole can bring, and the opportunities and benefits involved should be considered comprehensively,” he said.
“That means getting a good perspective on what the lowest cost resources are that should be encouraged, as well as what types of energy demand programs are appropriate, either through incentives or through some other way.
“The more efficient you can make the system, the better it is,” Fine said. “Once a system is optimized, that will result in the lowest rate structure for consumers as a whole.”
Fine said his firm is advising Public Service Co. of Oklahoma on powerrelated issues now and also has worked in the past for Oklahoma Gas & Electric Co.
Wednesday’s conference also will feature nearly a dozen other scheduled speakers. Tickets are available at aeeok.org.