ComEd helped customers lower their energy bills by a combined $4 million this summer through its Peak Time Savings program. The program helped nearly 300,000 families and individuals to manage their energy use – and save money — during six peak time hours when electricity is most in demand. Customers can enroll for free and do not have to participate if they do. But if they do participate, they will save money on energy.

A SMUD project that is being funded in part through an award from APPA’s Demonstration of Energy & Efficiency Development program will utilize blockchain-enabled tokens as part of an effort to encourage EV owners to charge their vehicles at workplaces when local renewables peak during the day. Denver Hinds, R&D project manager for smart energy technologies at SMUD, provided an overview of the project at Greentech Media’s Blockchain in Energy Forum 2019 in New York City.

For many residential customers, the monthly power bill – whether in paper or digital format – is a core part of their relationship with their electricity providers, and it may be the only routine touchpoint for some customers. At the same time, customers often have trouble understanding their bills and aren’t always aware of the various options for bill payment and on-bill financing. Further complicating this scenario, millennials are bringing new expectations to their relationships with their electricity providers.

State utility commissions across the country are innovating the regulatory process in response to the rise of variable renewable generation and distributed energy resources. These dockets seek to change the way utilities do business. Illinois and Oregon commissions are shifting away from traditional cost-of-service valuation, and Hawaii's performance-based regulation proceeding would transform the regulatory paradigm.

Last year, 28 percent of electricity around the globe was generated from renewable energy sources, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s International Energy Outlook 2019. The report found that of that 28 percent of renewable energy, 96 percent was produced from hydropower, wind, and solar technologies. EIA projects that by 2050, 49 percent of global electricity generation will be from renewables. EIA expects the share of solar to grow the fastest and the share of hydroelectric to grow the slowest.

The first residents of an all-electric and energy efficient community — the largest residential battery demand response project in the United States — are settling into new apartments. Their cars are tucked neatly beneath solar panel covers and their electric cars can plug into charging ports. Inside each apartment in the Soleil Lofts development, a Sonnen battery is humming silently close to their living room.