Has Energy Reached “Peak" Centralisation?

Centralization has taken place in:
. . . . . . manufacturing,
. . . . . . education,
. . . . . . health care,
. . . . . . government,
. . . . . . electricity,
. . . . . . natural gas, and
. . . . . . oil.

Yet there are signs that suggest that this tide of centralization may be turning,
. . . that we may have reached ‘peak centralization’.
Fossil Fuel demand has actually fallen in many parts of the U.S. and EU,
. . . due in part to the recent recession and increasingly efficient energy use.

It’s important to understand, that consumers don’t really consume:
. . . . . . electricity,
. . . . . . gas, or
. . . . . . oil.
They consume:
. . . . . . hot water,
. . . . . . warm and cool air,
. . . . . . illumination,
. . . . . . entertainment,
. . . . . . information,
. . . . . . transportation,
. . . . . . chilled or frozen food,
. . . . . . heat for cooking.
They consume energy services, and what they know is:
. . . . . . when,
. . . . . . where, and
. . . . . . how they want those services.

And what is now changing perhaps more rapidly than anyone could have imagined, . . . . is the nature of the relationship between these energy services and
. . . the primary energy upon which they rely.

When customers decide to go completely off-grid,
. . . a fascinating effect takes place: for the remaining customers,
. . . . . . costs to use the central system increase,
. . . . . . triggering even more customers to go off-grid.
Soon unfettered access to centralized production and delivery systems,
. . . become's ever more costly.



09-12-2014 Source:  Has energy reached “peak" centralisation?