Thankfully, there have been no deaths or injuries from any of these incidents. However, four major events in the span of six months has the electric utility industry--the future buyers of these products--very concerned. In several discussions with utility executives, I've heard expressions of serious skepticism about the safety standards of the energy storage industry and a sense of uncertainty about how to determine whether a newly launched startup has the capability to provide a safe product. It's true that electric utilities deal with severe safety risks with all their equipment. But energy storage systems present a new level of safety concerns--and ones that cannot be easily negated by proper training and procedural commitment.

Every energy storage system manufacturer should use the safety incidents that have happened in the last few months as a learning opportunity and an excuse to review their own approach to system safety. And every potential buyer of energy storage systems should put even greater emphasis on Missouri requirements: force the vendors to "show-me" the evidence that the system they are touting is safe.