Like veins that form the network transporting blood through our bodies, roads and electric lines transport energy and resources through cities. As people and companies share the desire to move from point A to point B as cheaply and quickly as possible, city systems evolve to become more efficient, thanks to continuous feedback mechanisms. However, communities still must utilize resources within the constraints of availability.
Read MoreLast week, I shared thoughts about how, having lost the battle for the smart home, utilities can capture the opportunities provided by smart cities and own the signals that customers get about what should matter. I got a few emails asking what that looks like. While this is part of the strategy/futurecasting service we’ll be providing, it makes sense to peel back the curtain a little and give a peek into how we think about these things. This was also spurred by a conversation with a fellow ‘Future Utility’ slack channel buddy of mine, Ken-Ichi Hino.
Read MoreI once wrote in a Navigant white paper that utilities need to stop building application-specific, siloed networks and think more holistically about their future communications needs. With the proliferation of distributed generation (DG), electric vehicles (EVs) and increasingly competitive operational environments, a utility’s ability to react quickly to shifting market dynamics will become critical to its long-term success.
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