Emerging trends in energy are often positioned in futurisms, rather than the recognition that these trends are already being applied. This also means that the future challenges of tomorrow are actually at our front doors, if not already within our grids.

Utilities are struggling now to safely balance the grid as they modernize, particularly when incorporating distributed technologies and systems to existing infrastructure. Key challenges include lack of sophisticated tools to accurately measure backfeed, power quality issues as more DERs are added, as well as employee and environmental safety hazards.

As customer expectations continue to shift alongside a growing dependence on connected devices both in and outside the home, utilities will have to critically assess how they manage all aspects of their grid, particularly with low-voltage management data and generation from renewables.