For nearly a century, utilities have generated electricity from huge, centralized fossil fuel-fired power plants. This electricity is sent to users over large transmission grids. This system works, but it has its limitations. For instance, there's often only one provider. If you want power, you'll have to pay its going rate, whatever that may be. And the power keeps getting more expensive. The cost of utility electricity has gone up 3% annually. It's done so for the last 15 years. Utility electricity is also unreliable. If the plant or the lines go down, that's it - there's no power. Even as I write this, my own neighborhood is without electricity from the aftermath of Hurricane Isaias. I'm not expected to get power back for several days. In 2019, there were 25,281 blackout events in California alone. That's a 23% increase from 2018's total. Those outages are economy killers. The Department of Energy estimates they cost the U.S. economy $150 billion every year. Utility power is also dirty. Every year, fossil fuel-generating plants spew out 1.9 billion tons of carbon dioxide. Today, this utility grid model is going through some major changes. It's happening here in the U.S. and around the world. And there are three economic trends driving this. The Move to Renewables The most important economic trend is decarbonization. Climate change means we must rapidly adopt renewable energy. Renewable energy resources are clean, and their "fuels" are infinite. Even better, they've become the low-cost options in many places. Next is decentralization. To slow down climate change, power grids have to integrate solar, wind and energy storage. Many believe this integration negatively impacts today's power grids. But in reality, the opposite is true. | 
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