California has led the way in implementing new time-of-use (TOU) rate schedules, which adjust per-kWh rates for electricity based on periods of peak demand. By 2020, California’s largest utilities will roll out the first system-wide default TOU rates to their millions of residential customers.
Solar is on fire, so to speak. According to a J. D. Power Utilities Industry Outlook report, “Solar megawatt capacity soared 24% in 2017 and grew another 8% in the first 9 months of 2018.” Since 2001, total solar generation worldwide has grown by 50% annually.
Utilities and energy efficiency practitioners can play an important role in helping businesses recover from natural disasters. After all, engaging with utility customers soon after natural disasters strike is good for all parties. In times of recovery, business owners are overwhelmed with making a lot of decisions and utilities want to serve their customers. Customers need to have resources they can trust, and often the utility is one of the most trusted resources in a community. Providing post-disaster energy assessments helps businesses determine what equipment may need to be replaced, explains the efficiency incentives available to them, and helps find a reputable contractor to do the work.
Anyone can start a business on the Internet, but how well it’s marketed is the difference between success and failure.
In 2015, Amazon’s first voice-controlled smart speaker, Echo, was released across the United States, along with its virtual assistant service Alexa. Since then, sales have exploded. Amazon now ships tens of millions of units each year, and competing devices from Google and Apple are also gaining impressive market penetration.
