Disruption is a term used too frequently in the Energy Sector. The industry has faced a lot of disruptions already. Some of them are growing at a pace that is slower than what people associate with disruption, but the effects are still and truly disruptive.
“Most significantly, the global energy sector is already facing multiple, concurrent disruptions that are fundamentally transforming electricity markets around the world. These disruptions really gained a foothold in recent years, and their intensity has only strengthened. Let’s consider just four of them: digitalization, decarbonization, decentralization, and electric mobility.” - The Energy Sector Needs to Stop Seeing Blockchain as a Disruption
These four areas on their own are plenty to disrupt that industry as we have known it. They will be extremely demanding on the systems of today, requiring to rethink how to run and operate an energy grid. Blockchain can help cope with these challenges in various ways:
“With these and other mega trends as a backdrop, it is time for the energy sector to start seeing blockchain technology as a solution to disruption, rather than as yet another disruption alongside the others.“ - The Energy Sector Needs to Stop Seeing Blockchain as a Disruption
Looking at where the successful blockchain applications are being installed now, blockchain is more a part of the digitalisation (or efficiency for that matter) than ‘another disrupting’ force. I believe this to hold for a broad range of industries, as a lot of those applications result in a more efficient administration process.
The moment concepts like DAO become more mature and become a thing in an industry, then I think we can consider labelling it as ‘disruptive’. Looking at the concepts being floated and taking that as an indicator of how far we collectively are with grasping the potential of this technology, I believe this is still too soon.
