In the next decade, new energy management technologies will offer consumers more cost-saving, energy-reducing control over their energy use and will compel utilities to make drastic changes to their infrastructure, according to a recent report by the Galvin Electricity Initiative.

Joining the trend of products making homes and workplaces smarter and more automated than ever before, these emerging energy devices will help consumers identify when they are using electricity and what electricity they are paying for, the report The Path to Perfect Power: New Technologies Advance Consumer Control found. Few utility companies are currently offering customers options that allow for this level of control. The report projects that as new technologies enter the marketplace and are adopted by consumers, more utilities will begin to adjust to meet customer needs by investing in advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) – which could eliminate estimated utility bills – and microgrid technologies.

“As an increasing number of consumers install energy management devices in their homes and businesses, more utility companies will need to upgrade their infrastructure to embrace demand-response and consumer-controlled energy tools,” said Kurt Yeager, executive director of the Galvin Electricity Initiative. “The fact is, these tools will benefit utilities, who themselves are facing escalating costs. Consumer control technologies will allow utilities to offer customers better, more efficient service – with less impact on the grid and the environment.”

In the present system, few consumers know the real cost of electricity, which fluctuates constantly, and most pay a bill that averages the cost of the power they use over a set period of time. Now, the industry is moving toward an almost “real-time” demand-driven model, according to the report. Promising energy control devices will offer users the ability to pay less for what they do use through a “demand-response” approach, a trend in which customers reduce power use during more expensive peak periods. This could mean a substantial reduction in electricity demand.

According to the report, with these improvements, such as adding AMI and smart grids, the power system will no longer be plagued by failures and poor restoration capabilities.

This report foresees that home automation and building intelligence technologies will become common offerings from local home improvement retailers like Lowe’s and Best Buy, home and commercial contractors, telephone companies and energy retailers by 2010. Consequently, increased use of energy management devices will provide utilities an opportunity to realistically offer consumers a "Perfect Power System" that provides reliable electricity service under any condition.