Creating Resilience While Ensuring Comfort Through Energy Management

This article was originally published by Elizabeth Killinger, a former NRG Energy employee, who served as advisor to the CEO. Prior to that role, she served as Executive Vice President of NRG & President of NRG Home & Reliant.

When I think of the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead for the energy industry, two words come to mind: resiliency and comfort. It’s an exciting time. We know we’re facing a large-scale energy transition, but what does that look like for consumers? How can we be resilient while ensuring comfort and convenience in the face of so much change?

At NRG, we power and protect 7.5 million customers throughout North America. Behind that number are people, just like you and me, who rely on electricity and natural gas to power and protect their lives. At the end of the day, they want to know their lights will turn on, the technology in their home will work, the AC will keep them cool, and the heat will keep them warm. We have a huge responsibility, and it’s one we do not take lightly.

As we address the energy transition and evolve our energy supply footprint, intermittent natural resources of power are becoming a larger part of our power supply. We must – at the same time – increase our focus on creating resilience. One of the ways we do this is by empowering our customers with energy management solutions.

Energy is becoming personal and local, so we provide energy management solutions that are smart and user-friendly. A consumer can use a smart thermostat that is integrated with their energy plan to be more efficient and save money all while staying comfortable in their home. They can install rooftop solar, battery storage, or a back-up generator to ensure they stay powered. They may even share their excess power with others. The opportunity to manage and harness the energy from those devices is substantial and – when combined at scale – can create real resilience without sacrificing comfort for consumers.

With all these tools available, consumers need a partner to navigate the convergence of the electrification of everything and proliferation of home control technology offerings. We are here to help. As we look ahead, we have plans, tools and programs to simplify and streamline energy management – both for today and in the Home of the Future. 

Working together, the future looks bright.