Re Electrify Everything (Report on Business, Aug. 21): Reading this article calls to mind Albert Einstein’s famous quote “We cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them.”
The traditional, unidirectional electricity system from big central generation sites, with top-down control, hopefully will be replaced with a new grid of distributed renewable generation, decarbonized and locally controlled. New entrants will bring the advanced technology that the traditional utilities resist and introduce local capital to address community-level opportunities.
The regulators, pension funds and unions that have benefited from the past century or more of centralized planning must adapt, as their traditional solutions are simply too expensive and unreliable. Distributed renewables, with battery storage, optimized for the distribution network, and integrated with demand response are simply cheaper and more resilient.
Massive changes are coming to our electricity system; hopefully Canada can leap ahead of where we are today, by localizing most of the benefits.
Oh, and the climate would benefit, too.
Dick Bakker Ottawa Renewable Energy Cooperative