A smart grid is a transactive grid.
- Lynne Kiesling
Archive for October, 2011

Smart Energy Consumer Behavioral Segmentation Study

Noticed an interesting press release today regarding a new Smart Energy Consumer Behavioral Segmentation study prepared by  J.D. Power and Associates. While not yet seen the report itself, I am intrigued by the segment of those surveyed that want the opportunity to earn points for reducing energy use and to redeem their points for cash […]

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Google and Microsoft Quietly Exit: Energy Efficiency vs. The Hassle Factor

Via MasterResource, an interesting article on the current crop of demand response strategies and tools, an era of “electronic nagging”.  How about smart markets with transactive capabilities that motivate people to behave with the one item that most frequently causes behavioral change – money – instead? “I have never known much good done by those […]

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The eBay of Electricity: Shopping For Power 2.0

Via Forbes, an interesting article offering one potential view on the future of power retailing: “…When Jan Adams got a NZ $300 (US $247) power bill back in April 2009 she could not believe it.  A tiny one-bedroom flat could not possibly consume that much electricity. New Zealand has a competitive electricity market but shifting […]

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Will Gaming And Social Media Reduce Your Energy Footprint?

Much has been written about gamification and Facebook’s recent foray.  As longtime readers of this blog will note, we are skeptical of the ability of such to engage users and motivate behavior change over the long run but, to be fair, let’s review three more relevant articles.  The market has been anticipating a substantial social […]

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Using Facebook To Plug In The Power Of Energy Efficiency Vs. Building a Social Network Around Earning Energy Credits

Two interesting approaches to using social networking to activate energy conservation.   The first, via GreenBiz.com, takes a look at NRDC’s recent decision to join forces with Facebook and Opower to launch a landmark initiative designed to kick energy efficiency up a notch.  The second, courtesy of GigaOm, reports on a German start up building a […]

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Can Smart Apps Save the Smart Grid?

Via Forbes, an interesting article on the need for smart apps for the smart grid.  We have long advocated such, although we believe apps that permit transactions will ultimately prove to be more sustainable and useful that games etc.  As the report notes: “…The other day a friend of mine asked me what he could […]

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About This Blog And Its Authors
Grid Unlocked is powered by two eco-preneurs who analyze and reference articles, reports, and interviews that can help unlock the nascent, complex and expanding linkages between smart meters, smart grids, and above all: smart markets.

Based on decades of experience and interest in conservation, Monty Simus believes that a truly “smart” grid must be a “transactive” grid, unshackled from its current status as a so-called “natural monopoly.”

In short, an unlocked grid must adopt and harness the power of markets to incentivize individual users, linked to each other on a large scale, who change consumptive behavior in creative ways that drive efficiency and bring equity to use of the planet's finite and increasingly scarce resources.