Greentech Lead Europe: First Utility, a utilities
supplier, has entered into a partnership with Opower, a smart grid software
company, to create a program to reduce UK households’ energy bills by 400
million pounds each year.
“We expect that our partnership with First Utility
will yield significant savings on bills for households, and plan to share these
results with DECC and the Cabinet Office as they consider policies to realise
the most customer benefits from smart meters,” said Opower president and
co-founder Alex Laskey.
Opower’s software allows First Utility to translate its
customers’ smart meter data into a range of brand new tools to help households
discover new ways to save energy and money alike. First Utility will inform
customers about their smart meter data reports through mailed reports, web
portal, email and text messages, as well as via social media. The multi-channel
approach will allow First Utility to reach out to all demographic segments and
drive a high level of customer engagement – and consequently energy savings.
“At First Utility, we are able to provide
cutting-edge home energy management tools enabled by our recently deployed
Smart Meters. First Utility have partnered with Opower, a leading energy
management software provider in the United States, to help us deliver the best
utility customer experience in the UK, and help our customers save on their
bills,” said Mark Daeche, founder of First Utility.
Opower recently created a new Facebook app that uses smart
meter data to let residents compare their energy consumption to that of their
friends