Please review the following discussion prompt and post, and then reply with if you agree or disagree with the post and why, in two paragraphs.
In looking at the industry in which you currently work, which life cycle stage do you think it is in at the present time? What do you see happening in the internal or external environment that could move it to the next stage? Provide a rationale for your thoughts.
I work for Salt River Project (SRP), a quasi-governmental electric and water utility company for the Phoenix metro area. I would have to say that the electric industry is in the maturity stage. It is a highly regulated industry with huge barriers to entry and economies of scale in generating stations and power plants. Machine bureaucracy, which achieves efficiency "through standardized routines, division of labor, and close management control based on bureaucratic principles" (Grant, 2013, p. 285) is evident in the electric and power industry. The majority of large generating stations have already been built, with the average nuclear plant being 34 years old and the last nuclear plant being completed in 1996. There is usually shared ownership in the larger plants between multiple utility companies. For instance, Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station in AZ has 7 different owners, with SRP owning 17.49% of the generating capacity. The majority of transmission lines, which carry 69 kV and larger are also shared between different utility companies. SRP shares the Phoenix metro area with a second power company, Arizona Public Service (APS). Being so highly regulated, both companies have specific territories. Customers do not have a choice in which power company they get to use.
I believe that technology will be the determining factor in moving the electric utility industry, or at least the current version of the electric utility industry, into a declining stage. SRP was one of the first power companies in the country to convert 95% of the standard meters to smart meters. A smart meter takes hourly readings and connects to a wireless network so SRP and customers have a broader base of information when it comes to their electric use. This allows for Time of Use programs that charge more or less per kilowatt hour (kWh) depending on the time of day the electricity is used. It also saves costs for SRP because drivers do not have to be sent out once a month to complete a meter read, electricity can be connected and disconnected via a computer, outage information is relayed back to operations almost instantaneously, and more precise electric information is constantly being recorded.
The big change in the industry will come when customers have an affordable battery storage option for their homes. Solar power and wind turbine generate electricity has gained popularity in recent years, but the biggest detriment has to do with reliability because if the sun isn't out or the wind isn't blowing these forms aren't producing electricity. With battery storage, customers will be able to generate their own electricity from alternative forms and store it for use at a later time.
The biggest change to the electric utility industry will come when nuclear fusion is finally an option. It may seem like science fiction to most people, but some scientists believe that we are less than 30 years away from a commercial scale nuclear fusion plant. When viable, it will take a glass of water to generate enough electricity for the average city to run for one day. Germany is currently waiting on regulatory approval to launch their nuclear fusion plant known as Wendelstein 7-X. Fusion technology will change the world. No carbon footprint will be left behind from fusion and the price of electricity would drop dramatically. Fusion will essentially harness the power of the sun in a reactor.