Utilities In For Radical Change In Next Decade

 I had the opportunity to have lunch with Patrick McGarry, an industry known energy consultant and Senior Director for Power Costs, Inc. (PCI), a national consulting firm to utility companies. Patrick explained that the energy industry has undergone some radical changes over the past 5 years and the next decade will be even more turbulent across the nation, including Northeast Florida. He sees higher fuel prices, rapidly changing energy portfolio towards intermittent renewable energy, like wind and solar, and the change over to electrification (such as plugging in electric cars at home), which could double or triple our demand for energy. He mentioned several issues that could affect Northeast Florida utility rates, such as problems utility companies have keeping a power balance back and forward with homeowners using and selling back solar power. He talked about the possibility of Time-of-Use metering, where electric use is charged to the customer, based on the time of day energy is consumed. Patrick, a 25 year veteran in the energy industry, also writes for national publications about energy issues. If you have an interest in current and future energy challenges, you can contact him atPJM3101@comcast.net. Patrick is on the right in this “Lunch with Les” photo.