De-ice uses about 10% of the electric power of anti-ice, due to the tremendous heat differcence between the two philosophies. Also, runback is a big problem in anti-ice systems, where the water runs back off the heated leading edge, and then freezes, making the heater mats need to be much bigger (and more power consuming).
The heat is of no structural signficance at all to the blade.
The system uses slip rings to transmit the amperage to the blades.
The other technologies (like piezo-electric shocking of the blade to force mechanical disbond) sound great, but are nowhere near mature enough to be considered.