UTILITIES AND NEW ENERGY

The Electrical Divide: New Energy Technologies and Avoiding an Electric Service Gap

Richard W. Caperton and Mari Hernandez, July 15, 2013 (Center for American Progress)

“…[U]niversal access to electricity [in the U.S.] arose from a very intentional set of policies put in place throughout the 20th century, mostly requiring utilities to provide service to everyone…This was a moral and legal contract…and it generated a great amount of business…The same conditions exist in traditional telephones…[But] our commitment to providing universal access to high-quality communications services such as broadband Internet or cell-phone service to every American is running into challenges, resulting in what is known as the “digital divide.”…The electricity industry is now entering a similar period of rapid change…If these deeply transformative changes in the U.S. power sector are not managed properly, 21st century America could see an emerging electrical divide not unlike the digital divide of the late 20th century…” click here for more

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