By: J.T. Thompson

Over the past couple of months, the Edge Zero team has engaged in conversations with numerous utilities and regulatory staff members. Much of this dialogue has focused on lessons learned from Australia and how those experiences might apply in other markets. Through these discussions, one important question continues to emerge: is there a world where utility prudency and customer affordability can truly co-exist?

In today’s evolving energy landscape, utilities face an increasingly difficult balancing act: how to remain prudent in investment decisions while also maintaining affordability for customers. On one side, utilities must ensure grid reliability, plan for growing demand and address aging infrastructure—all without overextending capital. On the other, they face increasing pressure from both regulators and customers to keep rates low and avoid unnecessary expenditures.

What Does It Mean to Be a Prudent Utility?

In regulatory terms, prudence means acting with reasonable foresight and using validated data to justify infrastructure investments. It demands more than just experience or best guesses—it requires documentation, measurable need and clear evidence that lower-cost alternatives have been considered.

Historically, this has presented challenges, particularly at the distribution level where limited visibility often forced planners to take conservative approaches. When faced with unknown transformer loading, DER impacts or voltage excursions, the default response was often: upgrade it—just in case.

That approach can be an expensive way to operate a grid.

Holding the Line on Affordability

Affordability does not mean ‘doing nothing.’ It means doing only what is necessary and doing it efficiently. It also means striving to keep rates at a level customers can manage.

Inflation over the past few years, combined with rising energy costs, has created financial strain for many households. One utility shared that many of its customers now review their energy bills alongside other expenses each month to decide which ones can be paid.

Keeping the grid reliable for everyone does come at a cost. Upgrades are not done pro bono. So how can utilities begin to strike a balance—one where prudency and affordability can, in fact, co-exist?

The Path Forward

The energy transition is accelerating. DER adoption, electrification and decarbonization are reshaping distribution networks. In this environment, the traditional tension between prudence and affordability is no longer sustainable if utilities are operating without adequate data.

Edge Zero offers a third path—clarity. With actionable transformer-level visibility, utilities no longer have to choose between safety and cost-effectiveness. They can achieve both. Edge Zero enables utilities to:

• Avoid premature upgrades by confirming actual transformer loading and power quality conditions
• Reduce truck rolls and field diagnostics through remote real-time fault and voltage monitoring
• Optimize transformer lifespans through condition-based asset management
• Identify DER hosting opportunities that enable new interconnections without costly reinforcements

By investing in real-time grid intelligence, utilities can future-proof their operations, build trust with regulators, foster customer loyalty and ensure that every dollar spent delivers measurable value.

This is not a zero-sum game. Edge Zero’s solution—grounded in real-time transformer-level data and actionable analytics—empowers utilities to replace assumptions with facts and make smarter, more targeted decisions in pursuit of both prudency and affordability.