Smart grids and the constitution of solar electricity conduct

Abstract

In the face of challenges of energy security, low carbon transitions and the replacement of aging infrastructure networks, new logics for the development of smart electricity systems are emerging amongst utility providers and public authorities. Whilst often portrayed as a technical matter, orchestrated through the top-down intervention of major corporate or government actors, such shifts in the system of electricity provision also entail efforts to fundamentally reconfigure relationships between providers and consumers, and rearticulate energy practices so that they are aligned to new governmental rationales. In this paper, we draw on theories of governmentality and social practice to consider the ways in which the smart grid is serving to constitute new forms of energy conduct, which in turn are vital to the ways in which smart grids are realised. Through the analysis of the first findings from an industry regulator-funded project in the north of England, we consider how and with what implications households that have installed solar photovoltaic (PV) technologies are fitting smart grid techniques and devices into their everyday practices. We argue that in contrast to households where solar PV has been regarded primarily as a device to deliver new flows of finance, the introduction of smart grid logics through the installation of in-home displays and hot water storage has served to rearticulate what 'good' electricity conduct entails and to reconfigure the ways in which energy-intensive practices are undertaken in households. We find these new forms of 'governing the self' to be critical in shaping how, and to what effect, the smart grid is taking root.

Users Empowered in Smart Grid Development? Assumptions and Up-To-Date Knowledge

“…However, whether and how measures for automation, financial incentives, and feedback mechanisms are effective depends ultimately on the specific features of the local energy system and the local setting, such as the relationships between residents and the project managers, conventions embedded in culture, weather conditions, etc. This was well illustrated in the comparative study by Bulkeley [21], which showed the outcomes of different settings and interventions. The first group of users had photovoltaic (PV) panels and a display showing their domestic consumption.…”

“…Instead of the passive consumer receiving energy, he/she is also producing and supplying energy. Such co-provision is regarded as an active role of users because their conduct "influences the grid and community, by reducing risks of load and voltage problems enabling more households to use PV" [21] (p. 17). Such perceptions of co-provision are merely technical; just the possession of renewable energy makes residents a provider.…”

Understanding Resource Consumption in the Home, Community and Society through Behaviour and Social Practice Theories

“…The merge of SPT with other theories has been previously attempted [80][81][82][83], these attempts focus on the individual and use SPT to deliver unique insights into daily practices. For instance, researchers have sought to merge theories of governmentality and SPT [84] to produce complementary insights bridging some of the weaknesses found in each of the theories. However, the latter approach has been either top-down or too focused on mundane daily practices to result in workable policy insights.…”

Who ‘Uses’ Smart Grids? The Evolving Nature of User Representations in Layered Infrastructures

“…Coming to very similar conclusions, a study of Danish smart grid experimentation projects discovered three main 'scripts' that inform the interaction that these projects expect between household consumers and future smart grids: an economic incentives script, an automation script, and an information and visualization script [64]. At the same time, many social science scholars of smart grids and smart meters have reacted to these types of preconfiguration of the user and their models of rationality by highlighting the diverse and often unpredictable ways in which consumers engage with smart energy, most typically in their homes [22,27,[65][66][67] but also partially as part of wider settings such as residential areas [26].…”

“…By studying these uses and users, we also produce a more subtle understanding of how exactly smart energy technologies might contribute to sustainability in energy systems. To these aims, we draw upon and advance a considerable body of STS research on user-technology relationships [18,19] and the technological, social, and policy assumptions and implications of smart grids and meters [20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30]. The article addresses two overarching research questions:…”