Work

Has activation run out of steam? Three imagined flexible publics in the Norwegian smart grid transition

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Expectations for technology development often contain taken-for-granted ideas about the future users of these technologies, such as expected responses to these technologies and policies accompanying them. This article explores how such Imagined Publics (Walker et al 2010) figure in Norwegian energy professionals’ expectations for making electricity use increasingly flexible in its timing. While expectations tend to be more studied during early phases of innovation, we address them in a context where innovation has progressed. We find that previous expectations (Ballo 2015) towards a future public that is trained to better manage their energy demand have become nuanced and uncertain. Instead, the neatest package of expectations is towards a future Internet-of-Things arrangement where emerging aggregators would remotely control fleets of energy-intensive household technologies. In addition, a third, more situated imagined public had emerged from the fear that current flexibility development efforts will resonate only with extra-interested users and not with the ordinary public. We discuss the shift of expectations as a dynamic and contextual process rather than as a direct consequence of an increase in technological potential. Finally, we point to the downsides of running towards the next technological hype, instead of innovating for a situated public.

Source: Futures

DOI: 10.1016/j.futures.2025.103627

Authors: Outi Pitkänen, Tomas Moe Skjølsvold, Marianne Ryghaug

Institutions: University of Helsinki, Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Language: English

Topic: Smart Grid Energy Management

Subfield: Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDGs: Affordable and clean energy, Industry, innovation and infrastructure

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $2,370