How Consumers Can Take Charge of Their Energy on the Blockchain

The Blockchain smart Grid, a potential foundation of consumer-based energy distribution, could turn the whole power industry on its head. Current regulated markets allow power companies to exercise actual monopolies over the energy generation, its accessibility, and of course its billing. But putting the power of blockchain, the tech behind cryptocurrency and the reason for its success, in the hands of the people to control their own energy sources offers a real solution to a decades old question.

It works like this: imagine trading energy among your peers rather than buying it from the power companies, much like you would with cryptocurrency. Capable of tracking and connecting a networks of electricity generation and usage, through solar panels or windmills, customers can choose the greenest options for the right rates. Peer-to-peer sharing not only allows users to see where their energy is coming from, but excess energy via overproduction can be fed back into the smart grid to eliminate needless waste. Demand for renewable energy will grow exponentially, when people can see, access, and choose the sources of their power, making clean energy more available to consumers.

Solar panels and energy bills both fetch a pretty penny, but when we strip away the problematic structure of the energy business and inaccessibility of clean energy, real possible solutions show themselves. As digital and energy technologies evolve alongside one another, consumers will have the power to take control of their energy needs.