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

Abstract

Expectations for technology development often contain taken-for-granted ideas about how groups of people will either adopt these technologies or endorse the policies meant to support the development of these technologies. 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. We find that previously predominant expectations towards activating a public of energy demand managers have become nuanced and uncertain. Instead, the neatest package of expectations was towards a future Internet-of-Things arrangement where emerging aggregators remotely control fleets of energy-intensive household technologies. In addition, the fear that flexible consumption might not resonate beyond extra-interested users had led to innovating for a third, more situated 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. We contend that the uncertainty of engaging the public in flexible consumption has been managed by shifting the realization of expectations further into the future. We note that currently, publics are not being engaged in flexibility development as more than consumers, which may complicate the goal of flexibility becoming a key characteristic of future energy systems.