Disruptive Forces

摘要

It wasn't that long ago when making a phone call required a massive network of copper wire. But advances in wireless technology and a torrent of new competitors allowed customers to "cut the cord" affordably. A similar transformation of America's century-old business model for electric utilities may be on the horizon. The rapid growth of distributed generation - power from rooftop solar panels, micro wind turbines, geothermal systems, and energy storage technologies - is a "disruptive challenge" that poses an imminent threat to the regulatory model that has long been used by utilities to generate a return on their investments, according to a report from the Edison Electric Institute (EEI).