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Power execs see tech-driven transition, challenges in storage, electric vehicles

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Power execs see tech-driven transition, challenges in storage, electric vehicles

Outside of the obligatory references to the rapid growth of renewables, two utility officials speaking at CERAWeek by IHS Markit in Houston on March 8 made little mention of power generation capacity and instead talked extensively about electric vehicles, battery storage and customer choice.

According to Patricia Vincent-Collawn, president and CEO of Public Service Co. of New Mexico, the U.S. power industry is transitioning from caring most about how electricity is produced to focusing on utilizing technology to provide customers greater choice.

"While the industry's bottom line remains delivering reliable, affordable and clean energy, innovations that allow for customer choice — and customized energy products — [are] making this an exciting time," Vincent-Collawn said.

When asked about those innovation, Vincent-Collawn and Pedro Pizarro, president and CEO of Edison International, both noted that the smart grid no longer is a distant vision and that battery storage, and even electric vehicles, will be pushing changes onto society and the industry alike over the next decade. Cellphone apps are steering customers toward more active engagement with their utilities, the two executive said. Blockchain and artificial intelligence also were mentioned as innovations expected to take hold in the power sector in coming years.

Pizarro said Edison and its utility subsidiary Southern California Edison Co. are helping California meet its ambitious goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 40% by 2030 by, for instance, increasing the use of renewable generation and also of storage batteries on the grid and in the home. They also are promoting the growth of electric vehicle use by providing more charging stations, Pizarro added.

Transportation electrification is seen in California as the key to getting a significant reduction of greenhouse gases. "There are underlying opportunities for using electricity in a different way," according to Pizarro.

7 million EVs expected in California by 2030

"Our journey is changing quickly," Pizarro said.

Asked what a reasonable projection of electric vehicle growth might look like and how much power they might need, Pizarro said Edison is projecting 7 million such vehicles on California roads in 2030, compared with approximately 300,000 today.

"Six years ago, we might have said that [electric vehicles] shouldn't be charged in midafternoon," Pizarro said, referring to the presumed strain charging might have on power supply at peak hours. "Now, we have a lot of midafternoon solar."

Although Pizarro acknowledged that the grid will need to be strengthened if it is to accommodate electric vehicle charging, he said that effort is underway.

"The single thing we are most looking forward to is a lower-cost battery, not only for vehicles but also for electricity storage," Pizarro said.

When asked if people have unrealistically high expectations with respect to batteries, Vincent-Collawn said, "I think [batteries] will be a game changer and make a difference for our industry. The question is when?"

Vincent-Collawn acknowledged that batteries are the subject of "a lot of hype" and recommended that the power industry should not act hastily and "get ahead of the technology." She said PNM must keep the lights on and has gone out for requests for proposals — "there will be gas peakers in the interim" — but added that through pilot projects and more research, big improvements in batteries are sure to come.

Making the industry 'cool'

Like a number of utility executives, Vincent-Collawn owns and drives an electric vehicle — a white Tesla in her case, she said.

"Get it out on a mountain road, and hit it. It is fast. It rocks," Vincent-Collawn told the audience.

But she said electric vehicles need to become more affordable for people in the medium-income bracket and additional public charging stations must be installed. Tesla has built some charging facilities on highway routes favored by its clients, but levels of existing open-source charging remain inadequate, she said.

The Edison Electric Institute has formed a task force to see how, and by whom, the charging network can be built out. "Some feel utilities shouldn't be building charging, though utilities could probably do it on scale," Vincent-Collawn said.

Asked how she thinks the power industry will have changed 10 years from now, Vincent-Collawn said she wonders "what the next generation of our workforce will look like" and how "a new set of folks will be attracted."

"We must make our industry cool, to give kids the sense that the industry is as cool as Google," she said. "Otherwise, none of us can retire."

Jeffrey Ryser is a reporter for S&P Global Platts, which, like S&P Global Market Intelligence, is owned by S&P Global Inc.