New technologies, operational strategies, and customer engagement programs are constantly being added to the toolbox of utilities and their load management partners. Rather than looking at the grid as pure and simple building of generation so it will match supply, the nuanced field of load management is increasingly looking for intelligent ways to keep the grid in alignment and reliable.

Finding new and creative ways to optimize the use of energy, both for the sake of the utilities and the customers, has remained a core tenet of the energy sector. This focus is only becoming more important as stakeholders realize that efficiency is a critical asset in the efforts to more towards a decarbonized grid.

While the electric power grid was never by any means simple, the sheer scale of it, the necessity of the power it brings, and the new and innovative assets connected across it have only made it even more complex in recent years. Add to that the trend towards modernization and implementation of the smart grid, and the era of the digital utility truly is upon is.

The past few years have ramped up the momentum for advances in digital technologies in the utility sector. The smart grid is no longer a vision for the future, but it’s happening in practice today. That said, there’s still a lot of work to do to install additional smart meters and associated hardware, maintaining the appropriate software and cybersecurity provisions that go along with it, and finding operational ways to maximize the impact of the digital utility.

For much of its history, the energy industry was largely dominated by central utility giants that covered all the power and gas needs of its region. While that centralized utility model still persists and succeeds, since the turn of the century the industry has also seen the rise of more small operations, tech startups, and new players looking to innovate in the world of energy. In particular, the clean energy space has seen a rise in these new thought leaders and creative solutions.