As I noted in another comment, peaker plants are in trouble everywhere. I don't think we'll see a political compromise soon enough, and expect a utility death s

As I noted in another comment, peaker plants are in trouble everywhere. I don't think we'll see a political compromise soon enough, and expect a utility death spiral. We're already at grid parity for solar on a kWh basis in places like Hawaii. What's more, solar supply matches A/C demand. Reducing and shifting most of the demand with home automation will cost less than buying batteries. Some people will just disconnect from the grid, maybe even connecting with their neighbours. The maintenance costs for the grid won't go down as fast as people dropping out, so retail prices have to go up -- engendering a positive feedback loop. As far as energy being non-negotiable with zero price elasticity: this is true in the short-term. We've seen the same thing with cars - eventually people switch away from gas guzzlers. More efficient appliances and architectures take a long time to show their effect, yet they have just as real an impact on total demand.