Opower has announced the deployment of its upgraded demand-side management (DSM) program with the electric utility Commonwealth Edison (ComEd).
ComEd leveraged the Opower platform’s new segmentation and targeting tools to aggregate data for more than 1.5 million of its residential customers to offer customized multi-channel communications that provide information to help them reduce energy use and save on their electricity bill.
ComEd will soon launch its smart meter-enabled program called Peak Time Savings (PTS) using Opower’s Behavioral Demand Response solution.
PTS saves customers money by applying credits to their bills for lowering electricity usage during high demand periods.
Customers can earn a $1 credit on their electric bills for every kWh of electricity reduced during Peak Time Savings Hours.
These options can help to save energy and money, while also benefiting the environment by lessening the impact of energy use during high-demand periods.
ComEd is leveraging the Opower platform to connect with customers via their preferred energy channel – web, interactive voice response (IVR), and paper to ensure higher levels of engagement.
ComEd is one of the first utilities to utilize Opower’s segmentation and targeting tools, to provide personalized communications to ComEd’s highest residential energy users.
With the use of Opower’s platform, ComEd expects these same customers will save 200,000 megawatts of energy and two percent annually on their electricity bill.
Recently, ComEd has dedicated $10 million in assistance funds for 2015 to help customers struggling to pay their electric bill.
ComEd is urging customers who have fallen behind on paying their electric bill to contact ComEd to see if they are eligible for payment arrangements or financial assistance.
In another development, the Illinois Senate Energy and Public Utilities Committee today passed SB 1879, known as The Energy Plan for Illinois Future, out of committee.
The comprehensive bill gives support for renewable energy in Illinois and ensures that energy consumers and the state economy will benefit from renewable power.
Sabeena Wahid
[email protected]