Traditionally, mission critical facilities have been willing and able to rely on centralized power plants owned and operated by utilities. These centralized utilities have controlled the transmission and distribution of power along with generating electricity at plants powered by coal, nuclear, natural gas, and hydro.
However, the traditional model of a central utility supporting customers is in transition. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecasts total U.S. electricity consumption, including direct use of electricity by combined heat and power (CHP) plants, will decline by 0.4% in 2020 and remain flat in 2021 — essentially putting a cap on potential profits that could be used for infrastructure upgrades.