The utility sector has been one of the most receptive markets for blockchain-based technologies, with a number of test projects demonstrating its potential value. To date, however, the big boys aren’t diving in – but a wealth of smaller startups are. Energo Labs has announced a new deal with First Gen, in the Philippines, and German battery and solar vendor Sonnen has joined NEMoGrid – a European project for blockchain-powered energy trading. Both announcements are interesting because they are trying to answer the question of how one goes about consuming electricity without involving the utility. This kind of distributed market requires a completely different business model, and would relegate the utilities to being only the supplier of the pipework that…