Open IP accessibility and the availability of symmetrical bandwidth allowed any node of the network to provide services. Net neutrality prevented the carriers from confiscating profits from edge-based applications.

As a result, enormous economic potential was released, drawing investment and creating large, profitable entities that could not function without the underlying transport infrastructure.

What is needed is a similar “grid neutrality”. The edge of the power network would be engineered to be perfectly two-way, and all nodes would be addressable to identify use and production. Any organization could create a “power site” and sell there electrons on the open market. The grid would charge for carriage based on volume alone, with tiered pricing for larger production to encourage some level of clustering in cases with larger potential like solar fields.

The power companies would likely sell their production assets like dams and plants as the greater supply and availability of capital would expose their inefficient use of capital. Some plants would be unsalable.

A few things would result:
1. Energy production economics would be exposed as relatively poor uses of capital. Like “content” on the net, most would generate little profits, and many would be poor uses of profits. However, some companies would figure out how to capitalize, and they would get disproportionate returns.
2. The “killer app” on the grid would likely be storage, not production, at first. Companies would arise that would use clever forms of demand balancing to arbitrage the market. They might use dams and pumps, compressed air, supercapacitors, or otherwise, or they might just find ways to use energy that was super-cheap at points when demand was low to produce products that require vast, cheap energy (aluminum smelting).
3. The ebay of power will be an unbelievable company, but the paypal will be better.
4. The grid will be used as a telecom network by some of the edge-based vendors.
5. Power recapture devices (recapturing energy loss from water heaters, etc) will be common features in homes.

Most importantly, WE CANNOT PREDICT WHAT WILL HAPPEN! No one could predict what came out of the web (except that there would be porn…). Opportunity draws capital, and ideas. In addition, the transport carriers will always try to close the network, like cable or cellular, but will be stronger, more profitable companies if it is open.