Societal Actors and Dominant Smart Grid Visions - Smart Grid (R) Evolution: Electric Power Struggles - page 75

Key Actors Who Priorities and Perspectives

Civil society Consumer

advocacy,
environmental,
and privacy
focused
organizations

Civil society actors engage at
different levels across the
electricity system intervening in
multiple venues at many levels to
advance a broad range of goals
(environmental, consumer
protection, health, etc.).

We begin with a general description of each societal actor and then attempt to situate
them within a larger social and cultural context, describe their primary interests, and
provide examples of how they interact with one another and with smart grid (Finnemore
1996 ) . Based on research we have conducted over the past six years, we explore the
primary interests driving each of these stakeholder communities. In the subsequent
chapters, we describe in more detail frequent tensions within and interactions among
these groups. We recognize that our characterization here is not comprehensive, and we
appreciate the significant heterogeneity within and across societal actors. These differences
are shaped by regional contexts, institutions, and individual priorities. In this chapter we
present generalizable caricatures of key societal actors, and then in the subsequent case
studies in the following chapters we provide more nuance and detail about howthese actors
interact (Cotton and Devine-Wright 2012 ) .
Following the previous chapters that reviewed the promises and pitfalls of smart grid
( Chapter 2 ) and the technologies of smart grid ( Chapter 3 ), this chapter completes the
first part of the topic, which sets the stage for the more detailed case-specific examples
in the subsequent chapters. In Chapters 5 , 6 , and 7 we develop more specific examples
of both alignment between and tensions among these different actors, their priorities, and
their perspectives. In Chapter 5 we focus on how actors interact regarding smart meter
deployment, in Chapter 6 we explore actors' interactions in large-scale wind development
and wind integration, and in Chapter 7 we highlight actor interactions in community-based
and small-scale smart grid initiatives.

4.2 Electricity Generation Companies and Private Sector Actors
Electric utilities and other companies selling hardware and software for smart grid are
directly involved in the planning, building, and operation of the electricity system. They