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

OG&E provides Silver Spring web portal to all smart meter customers and broadens DR study to encompass Silver Spring end-to-end DR solution

Silver Spring Networks' CustomerIQ web portal delivers near real-time data on utilities' energy efficiency programs, including consumption and pricing, which can provide a gateway for controlling devices within the home. (Graphic: Business Wire)

DistribuTECH 2011

SAN DIEGO--()--Silver Spring Networks, a leading provider of smart grid platforms, announced today that the company is expanding its partnership with OG&E, Oklahoma’s largest electric utility. The utility has deployed the Silver Spring CustomerIQ web portal to all customers equipped with a Silver Spring-enabled smart meter, providing them immediate access to insights about their energy usage. OG&E is also expanding its work with Silver Spring as OG&E begins the second year of its demand response study serving 6,000 OG&E customers. OG&E will leverage Silver Spring for installation, demand management software, in-home devices, online enrollment services, and program management for the study. The Silver Spring IP-based networking and applications platform, the Smart Energy Platform, forms the foundation for OG&E’s smart metering, customer portal, and DR study initiatives.

OG&E, by providing the CustomerIQ web portal to its entire smart meter customer base, has dramatically increased its smart grid leadership in consumer engagement, delivering customer participation, outreach, research and clear articulation of the benefits of deploying smart grid technology. With the efficiencies created by the Positive Energy Together® program, OG&E estimates it could avoid building two new 165MW peaking generation plants between now and 2016, a cost savings of up to $320 million over 10 years. Interim results of OG&E’s study will be presented at the 2011 DistribuTECH conference at a session scheduled from 9:30-11 a.m. on Wednesday, February 2.

A snapshot of the findings includes:

  • Customers with a smart thermostat achieved a maximum demand reduction of 57 percent during the peak period when compared to a control group.
  • The amount of electricity used by participants on the company’s variable peak price plan was highly influenced by price. Average energy use during the peak period ranged from a 1 percent increase during low price periods to a 33 percent decrease during high price periods.
  • The average energy reduction during peak periods, on the highest price days, ranged from 11 percent to 33 percent, depending on smart technology.

“Silver Spring is a valued partner as we help transform our customers’ relationships with electricity. Their demand response technology leverages the Silver Spring network to give our customers a timely view of their power and use so they can make more informed decisions about how to use their electricity more efficiently,” said Ken Grant, Managing Director of OG&E’s smart grid program. “We also gain much greater visibility into how and when electricity is being used by our customers, enabling us to improve customer service and increase our operational and energy efficiencies.”

With this rollout of Silver Spring’s CustomerIQ web portal, OG&E is the first utility to offer the recently enhanced and expanded version of the portal to all 775,000 of its customers as they receive smart meters. CustomerIQ enables utilities to directly engage customers to reduce support costs and deliver energy efficiency improvements in meeting overall demand reduction goals. Leveraging Silver Spring-enabled smart meters allows customers to gain more timely energy usage data. Silver Spring delivered OG&E a fully integrated customer web portal, including support for 61 rate plans and integration with MDMS , CIS, billing, and AMI head-end systems.

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 (bringing the study participants to 6,000) in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, including selecting, deploying and operating the Home Area Networking devices. These thermostats and in-home displays allow study participants to participate in one of two dynamic price plans. The CustomerIQ portal, deployed as myOGEpower.com for OG&E customers, offers DR-specific features, such as rate analysis and pricing notifications, to study participants to drive reduction in peak demand. OG&E also uses the Silver Spring UtilityIQTM Demand Response Manager back-office software to manage the programs. Because this software leverages the Silver Spring IP-based network, which supports multiple smart grid applications on common infrastructure, OG&E benefits from simplified back-office integration.

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. The interoperability of Control4 EC-100 and Pioneer PCT units with the Silver Spring Smart Energy Platform creates a robust end-to-end Smart Grid architecture. The Silver Spring UtilityIQ Demand Response Manager application sends data to the EC-100 and the Pioneer PCT, leveraging Silver Spring-enabled meters to effectively deliver complete energy information in real time.

“Active consumer participation in energy use, most tangibly delivered via our energy web portal, is critical to realizing the benefits of the smart grid,” said Eric Dresselhuys, EVP/CMO of Silver Spring Networks. “OG&E’s partnership with its customers and innovative smart grid programs are truly transforming the utility industry.”

About Silver Spring Networks

Silver Spring Networks is a leading Smart Grid solution provider that enables utilities to achieve operational efficiencies, reduce carbon emissions and empower their customers with new ways to monitor and manage their energy consumption. Silver Spring provides the hardware, software and services that allow utilities to deploy advanced solutions, including Smart Metering, Demand Response, Distribution Automation and Distributed Generation, over a single, unified network. Silver Spring’s Smart Energy Platform is based on open, Internet Protocol (IP) standards, allowing continuous, two-way communication between the utility and devices on the grid. Silver Spring has numerous deployments with leading utilities in the US and abroad, including Florida Power & Light, Pacific Gas & Electric, Pepco Holdings, Inc., Jemena Electricity Networks Limited and United Energy Distribution, among others. For additional information, please visit www.silverspringnetworks.com.

About Control4

Control4, a leading provider of the operating system for the smart home, delivers intelligent control of consumer electronics products, appliances and networking systems through an easy-to-use and intuitive software interface. Founded in 2003, the company delivers affordable automation and control of lighting, music, video, HVAC, security, and energy management systems to the broad market through more than 1,600 custom integrators, retail outlets, and distributors in over 70 countries. Control4 is the platform of choice for major consumer electronics companies, hotels, businesses and utilities that require an intelligent, open and affordable control solution.

About Energate

Energate is a leading provider of demand response and home energy management solutions including software, wireless communications, gateways, smart thermostats, switches and consumer energy displays. The Consumer Connected Demand Response (CCDR) solution allows utilities to immediately address residential energy demand and empowers consumers to more effectively manage their energy use. Energate products seamlessly connect to the Smart Grid to deal with supply and demand challenges, the increased use of renewables and dynamic rate structures. Founded in 2004, Energate is headquartered in Ottawa with offices in North Carolina, Toronto and California. Visit www.energateinc.com .

About OGE

OG&E is Oklahoma's largest electric utility, serving more than 775,000 customers in Oklahoma and western Arkansas. OG&E is a subsidiary of Oklahoma city-based OGE Energy Corp. (NYSE: OGE), which also is the parent company of Enogex LLC, a midstream natural gas pipeline business with principal operations in Oklahoma. More information is available at www.oge.com.

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Contacts

Caster Communications for Control4
Kimberly Lancaster, 401-792-7080
klancaster@castercomm.com
or
Blue Practice for Silver Spring
Nolan Necoechea, 415-381-1100
nolan@bluepractice.com

Contacts

Caster Communications for Control4
Kimberly Lancaster, 401-792-7080
klancaster@castercomm.com
or
Blue Practice for Silver Spring
Nolan Necoechea, 415-381-1100
nolan@bluepractice.com