Are Customers Ready to Leverage Distributed Intelligence?

Distribution grid operations are evolving. Having the insight to accurately control and manage the grid, gain value through additional consumer services/support and embrace a partner ecosystem by enabling the applications you want is critical to empowering innovation. Fortunately, this can all be achieved through distributed intelligence, providing proven, advanced applications that are managing the active grid of today and tomorrow. But are customers ready for this next step?

Itron recently worked with Zpryme to survey 75 utilities regarding their strategies around distributed intelligence, including their:

• Use of customer-generated power and behind-the-meter energy efficiency,
• Plans to create value for customers and
• Preparedness to support transactive energy platforms.

We collaborated with Zpryme to conduct this survey as a way to get a better pulse on how utilities are approaching distributed intelligence, what outcomes and applications are most important to them, and how behind-the-meter generation and transactive energy plays a role.

Here are a few of the trends we found:

1. 70% of respondents report that grid edge technology is critical to their utility’s future.
2. 59% of respondents are already using customer-generated power and behind-the-meter energy efficiency as part of their integrated resource plans.
3. While utilities are moving forward with distributed intelligence, they are not fully prepared for transactive energy platforms. Most feel they are somewhat prepared, but there is more work to be done to leverage distributed intelligence to support this technology.

For a full look at what utilities are saying about their strategies around distributed intelligence, visit our interactive infographic.

To learn more about developing a strategy that leverages distributed intelligence and grid edge technology to create customer value, visit Itron.com.