Few industries in the U.S. are as stuck in the past as our utilities are. In the face of growing challenges from climate change and the need for energy security, a system and a business model that each took more than a century to evolve must now be extensively retooled in the span of a few decades. Despite the need, many of the technologies and institutions needed are still being designed or tested. It is like rebuilding our entire airplane fleet, along with our runways and air traffic control system, while the planes are all up in the air filled with passengers.

In this accessible and insightful book, Peter Fox-Penner considers how utilities interact with customers and how the Smart Grid could revolutionize their relationship. Turning to the supply side, he considers the costs of, and tradeoffs between, large-scale power sources such as coal plants and small-scale power sources close to customers. Finally, he looks at how utilities can respond to all of these challenges and remain viable, while financing hundreds of billions of dollars of investment without much of an increase in sales.

Upon publication, Smart Power was praised as an instant classic on the future of energy utilities. This Anniversary Edition includes up-to-date assessments of the industry by such leading energy experts as Daniel Estes and Jim Rogers, as well as a new afterword from the author. Anyone who is interested in our energy future will appreciate the clear explanations and the in-depth analysis it offers.

Peter Fox-Penner, Ph.D., is a consulting executive and an internationally recognized authority on energy and electric power industry issues. He is a Professor of Practice in the Questrom School of Management and the Director of Boston University’s Institute for Sustainable Energy. 

"The thoroughness and authority of the book stand out, and as both a popular policy and business strategy book, Smart Power is a compelling read for a wide range of audiences."

"[Smart Power] proves that understanding how the electricity utility market works – and how radically it must change – is fundamental to the clean energy debate."

"Few economist/engineers understand the electricity system as well as Peter Fox-Penner, and far fewer can explain it as lucidly. Whether or not you agree with every detail, his vision of the opportunities, risks, uncertainties, and tipping-points of this vast and crucial industry is powerful and provocative."

"If you're serious about policies that place energy efficiency on a level playing field with new energy supplies, and energy policy generally, this book is essential reading."

"Smart Power paints a sharp picture of the historic challenges facing the utility industry, its regulators and the nation at large. Peter Fox-Penner's urgent call for a bottoms-up solution relying on local, state and regional cooperation and creativity presages the work now ongoing across the country. Smart Power is an essential read for policy makers looking for workable solutions for the next decade and beyond."

"Smart Power is the most advanced look at how climate policies will change our energy utilities, from power sources to operations to business models."

“Probably the best holistic treatment of the critical issues facing the electricity industry that I have ever read.”

"An absolutely terrific piece of work—remarkable scope and depth, while remaining accessible and pragmatic."

"A valuable and insightful analysis of where the U.S. electric power industry is headed and what it must do to successfully transition to a low carbon environment. This book should be required reading for all industry regulators as they prepare to confront the challenges of this new paradigm."

"…a thoughtful vision of the opportunities for the electric power industry to make use of new organizational and regulatory frameworks and new technologies so that it can successfully adapt to climate change, energy security and economic efficiency challenges ...."

"An excellent treatment of the critical issues facing the electricity industry."