Silver Spring expands Partnership with OG&E on Customer Engagement and Demand Response

Silver Spring Networks is leading provider of smart grid platforms. Recently, they announced that their company is expanding its partnership with Oklahoma’s largest electric company, OG&E. The electric company is expanding its work with Silver Spring as they begin their second year of its demand response study, which currently serves 6,000 OG&E customers. OG&E will leverage Silver Spring for installation, demand management software, in-home energy management technologies, online enrollment services, and program management for the study.

By providing the Silver Spring’s CustomerIQ web portal to its entire smart meter customer base, OG&E has dramatically increased its smart grid leadership in consumer engagement, delivering customer participation, outreach, research and the economic benefits of deploying smart grid technology. Efficiencies created by the Positive Energy Together® program, OG&E estimates it could avoid building two new peaking generation plants between now and 2016.

OG&E is the first utility to offer the recently enhanced and expanded version of the CustomerIQ web portal to all 775,000 of its customers. CustomerIQ enables utilities to directly engage customers to reduce support costs and deliver energy efficiency improvements in meeting overall demand reduction goals.

Silver Spring is leading OG&E’s implementation of a fully integrated demand response solution this summer, to an additional 3,000 residential and business customers. OG&E uses the Silver Spring UtilityIQTM Demand Response Manager back-office software, because the software leverages the Silver Spring IP-based network, which supports multiple smart grid applications on common infrastructure.

For the summer of 2011, participants who volunteer for the second phase of the study will have the opportunity to manage their electricity use and costs with Control4® EC-100 in-home energy displays and the Energate Pioneer PCT. OG&E will use study results from 2010 and 2011 to determine how customers respond to price signals and information delivered via smart technology to reduce energy consumption during peak demand and price periods.

Tendril Partners with UISOL to Provide Smart Grid Technology

Tendril, an Energy Platform company, is partnering with Utility Integration Solutions, Inc. (UISOL), the leading provider of demand response management and automation systems, on a Price Response Demand demonstration project for PJM Interconnection. This project will show how Locational Marginal Price, paired with distributed intelligence, can drive automated residential Demand Response in the home.

The project will also allow PJM to test the end-to-end integration of a near real-time Price Response Demand program, in order to better manage electricity demand. There are two fairly obvious benefits to utilities and other Demand Response providers. The first, by adjusting temperatures on thermostats by one or two degrees throughout the day, utilities can lower overall demand in their service area, which will ultimately result in cost savings for consumers. The second main benefit is that lower level consumption, could also lead to better integration of renewable energy into the grid, which will minimize utilities' need to purchase high-priced energy on the wholesale markets, which in turn, ends up putting savings back in consumers' pockets.

Additionally, a price-responsive demand program can provide significant environmental benefits, as well. By trying to conserve our energy, a price responsive demand program can help reduce consumer reliance on peaking combustion turbines and diesel energy generators, thus allowing for a cleaner environment.

Tendril Teams with Whirlpool Corporation to Usher in New Era of Smart Appliances

Tendril, a leading energy platform company, and Whirlpool Corporation, the world's leading appliance maker, unveiled a relationship that sets the stage for the rollout of smart home appliances in the U.S. The Tendril platform has the capability to support millions of smart appliances in homes across America.

Tendril will provide the back-end technology infrastructure to support the commercial deployment of smart appliances, including a range of connectivity-enabled services and applications. Whirlpool Corporation will integrate its smart appliances with the Smart Grid infrastructure by extending Tendril’s open standards-based, scalable and secure technology platform. This integrated platform will enable a dialogue between appliances, consumers and energy providers — making the connected home and home energy management a reality. For example, for a refrigerator to actively manage its energy consumption, it must be able to quickly, reliably and seamlessly communicate with the electric utility company.

In this case, the refrigerator will automatically move its defrost cycle to a non-peak time without impacting the performance of the appliance.

Smart appliances can have an even more profound impact on reducing expensive peak demand as well as supporting renewables (e.g., solar and wind) on the Grid. Consumers will also be excited by the new convenience features enabled by a smart appliance.

Calico Energy Solution to Enable Chicago Suburb to Realize a City- wide, Energy-efficient Smart Grid

Calico Energy Services today announced it has executed contractual agreements with the City of Naperville, IL and its Department of Public Utility-Electric to deploy an advanced energy management platform.

As part of the City of Naperville’s smart grid deployment, Calico is providing their award-winning Energy Intelligence Suite™ (EIS) energy management platform and hardware from Schneider Electric. In addition, Calico’s platform connects to the city’s new Elster AMI meters.

Calico’s EIS™ platform gives Naperville’s Public Utility complete command-and-control over its smart grid data system, allowing the utility to manage demand, improve reliability, reduce costs, and quantify the impact of energy management programs through integrated analytics. The platform also gives utility customers the ability to view and control their energy use through energy management portals, on-premise displays, energy management devices, and electric vehicle charging (EV) systems.

Naperville’s smart grid program represents one of the broadest deployments of an integrated energy management platform at a municipality to date, and includes Calico’s EIS OpCenter™ for load control management, HomeSMART™ for home automation, BusinessSMART™ for small commercial automation, and EIS Mobile™ energy management module.

The combined solution helps automate the City’s electric, water, and natural gas systems, boost energy efficiency, and manage energy demand. In addition, residents will be able to purchase a variety of home automation devices through local retailers to manage their energy use, including: in-home displays, programmable/controllable thermostats, electricity load control devices, and on-premise electricity storage units. The complete smart grid solution is scheduled to be rolled out in Q3 2011.

The City’s smart grid project will empower customers with expanded choices about how they consume energy, education about how to conserve energy and automate savings, and the ability to view water, natural gas, and electricity usage and costs. The program will also ensure greater reliability of energy through demand response, and provide a variety of electricity rate structures that enable customer cost- savings. The combined technologies provided by Calico, Schneider Electric, and Elster will expand the City’s communications network by installing an Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) and smart meters, automating its distribution grid, and implementing Conservation Voltage Reduction (CVR) to increase power quality.

No one said it was going to be easy

The smart grid is fast becoming a reality. The U.S. power grid is aging and is in need of an upgrade. Smart meters are being installed on residences across the U.S. as part of Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) deployments. Pilot programs testing a variety of residential energy management programs are well underway, including the latest from CPS Energy in San Antonio, TX. As part of the pilot program, 40,000 residential customers will receive smart meters. Over the next 10 years, more changes and developments will take place on the grid than they have over the last 100 years. However, it is not going to be easy.

The smart grid has benefits for all involved; however, failure to convey the benefits has become a major challenge. Utilities like the idea of cutting labor costs and being able to manage electricity usage more efficiently; environmentalists want to integrate renewables onto the grid; manufacturers want to sell appliances and consumers want to cut expenditures on electricity. These are all different goals and not necessarily compatible in every respect. For instance, some utilities are developing the capability to shed load by remotely adjusting consumers’ thermostats or appliances. This helps them avoid paying premium prices for power during times of peak usage, but not all consumers want to participate in these programs. Parks Associates 2010 Residential Energy Management Survey shows that about a third of households don’t mind utilities controlling systems in their homes; on the other hand, 40% of households don’t like the idea.

Another hurdle is lack of communication. Utilities are accustomed to acting unilaterally once public utility commissions approve a program. Many didn’t place a priority on customer education. This has changed significantly and utilities are taking an active role in building stronger relations with their customers. Both California-based Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) and Dallas- based Oncor have established C-level positions, Chief Customer Officer (CCO), to build stronger relationships with the customers. The CCOs and their staff are responsible for addressing customer concerns answering billing inquires and educating customers about the benefits of smart meters and more.

Not being easy doesn’t mean impossible. Meter data management firm eMeter’s Chief Regulatory Officer, Chris King, briefed congress in July, 2010, on the results of the PowerCentsDC smart grid pilot program in Washington, DC. Conducted in collaboration with DC utility PEPCO, King reported that the overall results of the pilot were very positive, “Over the course of the pilot, 90 percent of customers saved money -- an average of $44 per year -- and more than 90 percent said they would recommend the program to friends and family.”

Parks Associates’ 2^nd Annual Smart Energy Summit in Austin, TX on January 24th-26^th, 2011 will provide utilities and other interested parties a forum to share and discuss these initiatives as well as other lessons learned with an eye to identifying additional ways to engage in energy conservation and management programs.

Honeywell UtilityPRO Becomes Fastest-Selling Demand Response Thermostat

Honeywell announced that UtilityPRO™ has become the fastest-selling thermostat for utility-sponsored demand response programs. Since the technology was introduced in 2008, Honeywell has shipped more than 350,000 of the touchscreen programmable thermostats, which give utilities control over peak consumption while helping homeowners cut energy costs.

Thirty-three utilities in the United States and Canada have already selected the thermostat for their demand response efforts. By 2011, Honeywell expects UtilityPRO will give these utilities combined control of more than 500 megawatts of peak energy use — equivalent to the generation capacity of approximately 10 gas-fired peaking plants.

Utilities and end users access UtilityPRO through a built-in communication module. In addition, utilities can communicate directly with customers by sending customized text messages — an industry first. Specifically, they can send information like weather forecasts, and updates on other efficiency and conservation programs.

For the full release, click here.

GreenWave Reality sponsors Smart Energy Summit 2011

Parks Associates welcomes GreenWave Reality as a new 2011 event sponsor for the Smart Energy Summit.

GreenWave Reality is a global innovator in the emerging Home Energy Management market. GreenWave Reality provides an affordable, easy-to-use, standards-based platform that allows utilities enhance their relationship with consumers and better balance energy on the grid while consumers can conserve energy with a minimal impact to their lifestyle by easily monitoring and controlling their appliances and adding intelligent LED lighting.

Visit GreenWave Reality at www.greenwavereality.com.

Thank you GreenWave Reality for your support!

The Smart Grid “Middle Mile” Issues

If the smart grid stalls, it may be because of the “middle mile.” The middle mile may suffer from traffic jams unless utilities plan carefully.

Many utilities start their smart grid push with advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), which doesn’t require much bandwidth or speed. The middle mile starts to get overcrowded when new applications (grid automation, assest management, or outage management) are added.

The solution is to plan ahead for future needs. Utilities need to determine the requirements for bandwidth, for latency, for range and for quality of service (prioritizing critical messages) with a network that has lots of excess capacity or at least has a plan for expanding.

To read more on "How the ‘middle mile’ could stall smart grid communications," click here.

Siemens & eMeter Partner with Orlando Utilities Commission for Smart Grid Capabilities

Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC) has selected Siemens for the provision and implementation of their meter data management system based on eMeter's EnergyIP™ software to support current and future applications and business processes enabled by an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI).

OUC is committed to enhancing its services to utility customers, including improved billing accuracy, faster customer response and more efficient customer service, immediate (on-demand) move-in/move-out meter reads, remote meter connect/disconnect, improved reliability and outage management, all of which is provided by EnergyIP.

OUC wishes to improve its operational efficiency and reduce costs through reliable interval data from electric and water meter reads for energy purchasing, time-of-use pricing programs, prompt notification of leaks, tampering and theft, as well as distribution load analysis.

New White Paper: Consumer Attitudes and the Benefits of Smart Grid Technologies

Parks Associates just recently a new White Paper on Consumer Attitudes and the Benefits of Smart Grid Technologies.

The energy industry is undergoing a paradigm shift, with numerous companies, from utilities to service providers, vying for part of this new business. A fundamental question regarding these efforts is, "How motivated are consumers to manage their electricity consumption?"

Download here.

Energy in the Home Webcast, Thursday Sept 30

Join Parks Associates for this month's webcast on Energy in the Home on Thursday, September 30th at 1 PM Central.

The Residential Energy Management landscape is in a state of change, with a host of new players vying for consumers’ attention. Research shows specific consumer segments are receptive to new REM solutions, including consumers with monitored security, consumers with HVAC maintenance contracts, and smartphone owners.

Bill Ablondi, Director of Home Systems Research will discuss the developments and drivers impacting the REM market, with a focus on opportunities from the meter into the home.

This webcast features:
-- Home Area Network (HAN) developments
-- Business models from utilities, service providers, & other REM solutions providers
-- Consumer research insights identifying what energy management customers are looking for & how much they are willing to pay

For more information or to register, click here.

Duke Energy Takes Steps to Advance Smart Grid

Duke Energy has selected California-based Echelon Corporation and Massachusetts-based Ambient Corporation to further develop its grid-based communications architecture that connects various digital devices such as smart meters, power line sensors and automated power switching equipment.

A key component of Duke Energy's smart grid communications architecture is the communications node. The nodes are installed on the grid alongside electric power transformers located overhead and at ground level. Once in place, the devices gather data from numerous digital devices and send it over a telecommunications network to Duke Energy, where the information is collected and used for various business purposes such as billing and power grid management.

Energy usage information is also made available to customers so they can see their specific energy usage data, which they can then use to make more informed decisions about how and when to use energy.

More information about the company visit: www.duke-energy.com.

Grid Net and Oracle Join Forces to Deliver New Integrated Smart Grid Solutions for Utilities

Grid Net, a global leading provider of real-time, all-IP Smart Grid and Smart Home software platforms for any device and any broadband technology, announced it will work together with Oracle to deliver advanced distribution management systems and meter data management technology to support utilities’ Smart Grid deployments aimed to improve grid reliability and enable smarter energy choices.

Today’s emerging Smart Grid deployments will generate a vast amount of energy usage data and require near real-time, reliable, and secure communications for utilities to efficiently distribute energy and interact with a rapidly growing number of distributed devices. As a Gold level member of the Oracle Partner Network, Grid Net will work closely with Oracle to help deliver complete, open, and integrated Smart Grid solutions to the utilities industry.

Together, these solutions can help utilities efficiently, securely distribute power, improve network reliability and reduce outage durations. The combined solution will operate on a common data model and integrate easily with Oracle Utilities Meter Data Management and Oracle Utilities Customer Care and Billing providing utilities with a wealth of information that will help them improve network performance and customer satisfaction.

For the full press release, click here.

Central Maine Power Proceeds with Trilliant for Smart Grid Communications Network

Trilliant Incorporated, a leader in delivering Smart Grid solutions that enhance energy efficiency, utility operations and renewable resource integration, announced that it has completed agreements with Central Maine Power (CMP) to provide a complete Smart Grid communications network and advanced meter infrastructure solution. The company will install smart meters for all of its 620,000 residential, commercial, and industrial customer accounts beginning later this summer.

The Smart Grid deployment will use Trilliant’s SecureMesh™ communications network to provide a comprehensive high-bandwidth private Wide Area Network (WAN) and Neighborhood Area Network (NAN) that interconnects meters and other Smart Grid-enabled devices to enable consumer energy management.

Trilliant partnered with leading companies to bring a best-in-class solution to the Maine project. General Electric (GE) and Landis+Gyr are providing electric meters and IBM is providing Tivoli Netcool software integrated with UnitySuite applications for robust and scalable service management of Iberdrola’s Smart Grid communications infrastructure.

CMP was awarded $96M under the Smart Grid Investment Grant program of the U.S. Department of Energy authorized under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act. Matching funding from the corporation will bring the total investment to nearly $200M.

Texas A&M Researchers Seek Product Information From Smart Grid Vendors

Smart grid technology and software companies are encouraged to submit information about their products for inclusion in a Smart Grid Resource Guide being developed by researchers with the Smart Grid Research Consortium at Texas A&M University.

The consortium, which includes 12 municipal utilities from across the United States, is focused on developing business models that incorporate smart grid technology. The new guide, according to consortium leader Dr. Jerry Jackson, will feature reviews of the latest smart grid technology and software.

Electric smart grids provide integrated communication, automation and control of entire electrical systems, from generating plants to the operation of electric equipment inside homes, commercial buildings and industrial plants.

Texas A&M's Smart Grid Research Consortium study is the first to provide utility-specific cost/benefit models that can be applied to evaluate the business case for individual smart grid technologies and utility smart grid strategies.

Additional details on the Texas A&M University Smart Grid Research Consortium are available at http://smartgridresearchconsortium.org/

AT&T Announces Smart Grid Agreement with Current Group to Deliver Grid Optimization Solutions to North American Utilities

AT&T announced it is extending its reach with smart grid solutions for utilities throughout the United States with a new agreement with CURRENT Group, a leading provider of distribution Smart Grid solutions.

AT&T will offer CURRENT Smart Grid Distribution Solutions, which help utilities increase grid efficiency and system capacity by managing demand dynamically and reducing power delivery losses. CURRENT’s solutions includes intelligent sensors and analytical software that monitor distribution grid performance; its OpenGrid utility element management system; and its System Optimization and Reliability analytical software solutions. AT&T’s suite of M2M pricing plans designed specifically for the smart grid market makes this solution an economical choice for utilities.

The agreement between AT&T and CURRENT provides utilities with an integrated solution that includes the breadth of AT&T’s managed and network services, combined with AT&T’s mobile broadband network. Having an integrated solution helps utilities to streamline deployment and reduces equipment and maintenance costs.

AT&T offers a range of strategic mobility products and services to the utility industry, including wireless solutions for field service workers, outage detection and remote monitoring for automated metering infrastructure. AT&T’s dedicated team of industry specialists understands the business process from end to end and translates technical solutions into meaningful business value for customers.

CURRENT’s innovative and industry-leading solutions deliver consumer-less energy efficiency through load reduction, improved grid operations, and helps speed the integration and management of renewable energy sources. These solutions can be deployed cost-effectively without large capital expenditures and no retrofitting. Through its dynamic measurement and verification capabilities, CURRENT’s solutions enable utilities to prove energy savings and carbon emission reductions, critical for regulatory compliance and proof of value.

The joint solution offered by AT&T and CURRENT is immediately available throughout North America.

For more information, click here.

Honeywell Acquires Demand Response and Smart Grid Leader Akuacom

Honeywell announced the acquisition of Akuacom, a leader in automated demand response technology and services for the smart grid. The Akuacom Demand Response Automation Server provides utilities and independent system operators (ISOs) two-way communication with energy management systems at commercial and industrial sites. This gives utilities and ISOs the ability to automate the delivery of price and reliability signals to these facilities, and more effectively trim peak demand, adding to Honeywell's energy management and smart grid portfolio.

Utilities and ISOs use demand response to reduce consumption when electricity is expensive and demand outpaces supply — usually on hot days when air conditioners and cooling equipment are running in most facilities. By working with their customers to control energy use, utilities and ISOs save money by eliminating the need for additional peaking power plants, which typically run only when electricity use spikes. Customers reduce costs as well by shifting consumption to times when prices and rates are lower.

Demand response also helps utilities avoid disruptive brownouts and blackouts. And it enables large-scale renewable energy adoption by absorbing the variability that comes with solar, wind and other sustainable resources.

Progress Energy Awarded $200 Million Grant for Smart Grid Projects

Progress Energy has accepted a $200 million U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) grant awarded as part of the 2009 federal stimulus package. The funds will be used by the company's two utilities for investments in equipment, systems, technologies and communication infrastructure that will add "intelligence" to the systems used to deliver electricity to more than 3.1 million households and businesses in the Carolinas and Florida.

In addition to providing the utilities real-time information about the state of their electric grids, the smart grid transition will enable customers to better understand and manage their energy use, and will provide for more efficient integration of renewable energy resources.

Supplementing the DOE grant, Progress Energy's two utilities will invest more than $300 million in smart grid projects.

IBM Poland and WINUEL Develop the 1st Polish Smart Metering Software Package

IBM Poland and WINUEL SA, announced the first Polish Smart Metering software package to enable intelligent electricity use in more than 15 million households in Poland. The solution was developed jointly with the IBM Software Laboratory in Krakow.

Based on Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) using WINUEL's programming components and IBM WebSphere, the new solution allows both utility companies and clients to better manage their energy consumption by ensuring detailed, accurate and real-time monitoring at both sides. As a result, utility companies will be able to measure and bill their clients depending on actual energy use. Billing is currently based on rough estimations, which makes the process time consuming and impacts accuracy and income. The solution can be integrated into the platform of any utility company, which also makes it relevant outside of Poland.

The first Polish Smart Metering software package addresses a new 35 million dollar market.