SMART CITIES

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The blend of domestic power generation and energy storage technologies , such as rooftop PV and batterybased storage units ( the size of a small fridge , but half as deep ) in the garage , provides energy consumers with a degree of independence from the grid . It also provides them with the ability to trade the power they generate .

However , this change brings big questions to the table . Questions about who owns and pays for the power grid of the future . Decentralisation of the energy sector is becoming a very real possibility — as a single household , or small business , can be a player in the energy market , and as many consumers become producers of energy .

In this scenario , utilities will no longer be at the centre of the relationship between the producer , the consumer and the regulator of electricity . In practice , these energy “ prosumers ” will

— Keith Harrison , Research Director at Gartner

APRIL 2019