Energy, Oil & Gas Magazine EOG 215 July | Page 19

_______________________________________________________________________________________ Energy transition
Democratization of energy
It ' s no understatement to say that this move to a more dynamic , distributed energy system also increases the market power of the demand side and the consumer . For the first time , those consumers that choose to allow their active , decarbonized demand ( such as electric vehicles , heat pumps and storage ) to participate in the electricity system or take advantage of the services offered by their energy supplier or services provider , can become price makers rather than passive price takers . This is sometimes referred to as the ‘ democratization ’ of energy .
I ’ ve had the privilege of discussing what drives the energy transition in different countries and under different market structures and regulatory governance . Whilst the economic drivers and timescales vary and the implementation challenges are different depending on the degree of vertical integration ( those national and municipality utilities serving consumers from their power stations to beyond the consumers ’ plugs ) or horizontal disaggregation across the value chain ( such as in Britain and Australia ), the challenges are similar – it ’ s a matter of clarity on respective roles and responsibilities , securing the required investment , access to the necessary skills , and making sure that consumers continue to have the reliable access to energy we ’ ve come to expect .
Enhanced visibility
The opportunities for organizations to redefine themselves and realign their business models are enormous .
The common theme is the need for visibility of what is happening in the system , both physically and behaviorally . Such visibility informs more timely decision taking on the operation of the system and in rewarding consumers for allowing their smart devices to actively participate in the system . And hence support a managed transition .
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