The opportunity to develop customers’ abilities to control their electricity costs is a rapidly emerging area of the energy industry. Technology-­enabled solutions - such as advanced metering that gives customers instant results regarding their costs of electricity, improvements in solar technology to allow customers to utilize their property as a basis for generating their own energy and changes in regulations affecting customers who continue to be serviced by regulated energy corporations - are all leading to new opportunities for entrepreneurs who are able to provide true innovative energy solutions for customers.

In New York, current policies are being developed through an initiative known as Reforming the Energy Vision (REV). Though the acronym might be catchy and give an impression of rapidly moving developments, the opposite is true as the process grinds through the typical Albany bureaucracy. The REV initiative is filled with the usual insiders, and though a few new concepts have breached, it is, in fact, veering toward the tried-and-true - and failed - approach of encouraging the monopoly utilities to lead the way by surcharging customers and then doling out the money to a few selected projects.

Although several coalitions and companies from various parts of the energy industry are trying to bring some true competition to the process, so far, Albany appears to be leaning toward its traditional favorites - the monopoly utilities it regulates.

However, this is not all bad news. What the insiders don’t realize is that the more competitive and smaller companies can move quicker and adapt to the rapidly changing technology environment faster than the behemoth-like utility corporations.

One good example is on Long Island. In the early 1990s, the state took over utility operations on Long Island. Though the rest of New York was deregulated and the benefits of competitive energy options were enjoyed by those customers, Long Island’s residential, commercial, institutional and industrial customers suffered - and continue to suffer - from the highest energy costs in New York and, possibly, the continental U.S. However, solar options for Long Island customers are improving daily due to technology improvements and, ironically, the inefficiencies of the state-run system. As this system deteriorates, the economics of solar installations continue to improve. By bypassing the utility supply and generating their own energy, customers are saving on both the supply cost of electricity and the delivery.

Other technology opportunities also exist. For example, customers can install real-time metering for less than $200 - which gives them instant readings on energy costs and what equipment or processes are contributing to the cost. Studies have shown that this information can reduce energy costs by up to 8% for the customer. There are several other simple options for customers to save and control electricity costs.

Lighting can account for up to 25% of a customer’s energy use, but LED bulb technology has changed the way we view lighting options. It is now very easy to choose specific bulbs that match a customer’s light color preferences, are attractive and have a 20-year lifespan. Most importantly, LED bulbs can reduce lighting costs by as much as 80%, depending on what bulbs the customer is using and the type of light requirements the customer has. Although LED bulbs have a higher initial cost, the energy savings make up for that higher cost in less than a year.

Technology has changed the way we all consume energy, from everyday devices such as cell phone chargers and laptops to the entire range of technology-enabled equipment and processes in the industry. That same technology can now enable consumers to take control of the way that energy is produced and delivered to their home or business. Solar, natural gas, metering and a whole host of options not even on the market yet will change the way we all view energy over the next five years.

- Phil Van Horne

Phil Van Horne is CEO of Blue Rock Energy Inc., a provider of renewable energy based in Syracuse, N.Y.