Small networks of power generators in "microgrids" could transform the electricity network in the way that the net changed distributed communication.
Jeremy Rifkin proposes setting up a decentralized energy system, similar to the internet, to reduce vulnerability to blackouts.
Fuel cells and microturbines could turn everybody into a power producer, easing blackouts, lowering prices and bringing electricity to the powerless.
Gar Smith assesses the pending energy crisis caused by the digital economy and proposes micro-power arrangements as a possible solution.
Distributed, decentralized power plants in or near homes and offices are coming back into fashion, hundreds of years after Thomas Edison first suggested the idea.
The nation's electrical grid is struggling to keep up with the soaring demand for energy to power computers and air conditioners and chronic severe outages are likely. Peter Spencer discusses the potential of utility deregulation and 'distributed power' (allowing heavy power users to generate their own power close to their plant) to address these issues.