Utilities Overwhelmingly Select FirstFuel for Business Customer Engagement in 2016

EDF Energy among utilities delivering effective customer engagement strategies using the FirstFuel platform

LEXINGTON, Mass.--()--FirstFuel Software, the global leader in business customer engagement for the energy industry, today shared insights into its 2016 corporate momentum, announcing that it has added 10 new customers since January 2016, bringing the total number of utilities and energy providers that rely on its proprietary business customer engagement solution to 27. Working with utilities across North America and Europe, FirstFuel provides analytics on more than four million commercial meters, up from 2.5 million in 2015, cementing its role as the leader in business customer engagement for energy providers.

In today's rapidly evolving energy landscape influenced by emerging technologies and new regulatory conditions energy providers are increasingly using strong customer engagement to help achieve their goals of improving customer satisfaction, growing new revenue sources and reducing service costs. Engaging business customers is critical for utilities to succeed in the market, and continues to grow in its importance as the energy ecosystem further diversifies. Energy providers joining FirstFuel’s impressive client list this year include Baltimore Gas and Electric, ComEd, Con Edison, Constellation, EDF Energy, Efficiency Vermont, E.ON Romania, Hawaii Energy, PECO and Portland General Electric.

EDF Energy uses the FirstFuel platform to support its business customers with personalized insights and recommendations on opportunities to save energy. EDF Energy’s program uses analytics to evaluate its business customers’ energy consumption and highlight key areas where energy can be saved. Many of the recommendations focus on opportunities to improve the working atmosphere including lighting, ventilation and heating improvements.

“Using FirstFuel Software, EDF Energy is able to look at each of our business customers’ buildings and assess how their energy can be optimized. The groundbreaking combination of data science, advanced analytics and software applied to buildings gives our business customers unprecedented insights on their energy use without us having to go behind a meter,” said Vincent De Rul, head of business development, EDF Energy. “We want our customers to consider us not only an energy supplier, but an energy partner. By helping them improve their energy efficiency, we’re able to offer them more and build their trust.”

In 2016, FirstFuel also renewed and expanded business with many existing clients including Pacific Gas and Electric, Sacramento Municipal Utility District and Washington Gas Energy Services.

"The utility market is rapidly adopting business customer engagement as a pivotal capability to accomplish their customer-facing objectives," said Swapnil Shah, CEO, FirstFuel Software. "Over the past 12 months, we have seen tremendous demand for our analytical SaaS solution and anticipate continued growth throughout 2017. Today’s business customers want to see that energy providers understand their needs – whether it’s through customer service, online, sales or marketing. We’re helping utilities understand these customers and giving them strong metrics to back up the impact.”

To accommodate booming demand for its customer engagement solution, FirstFuel this year increased its team by more than 30 employees, adding strategic hires in key European territories and in engineering, sales and marketing departments. More information about careers at FirstFuel can be found here.

FirstFuel has also expanded its board of directors, appointing Jonathan Temple, an operating partner with the Riverside Company, a global private equity firm focused on making investments in growing businesses valued at up to $400 million. Temple brings more than 25 years of experience in the software industry and an impressive track record leading and accelerating the growth of software organizations to the FirstFuel leadership team.

About FirstFuel Software
FirstFuel Software is the global leader in business customer engagement for utilities, using advanced analytics to help 27 energy providers in North America and Europe improve business customer satisfaction, drive sales and revenue, and reduce service costs. Combining data science, building science, and software, our digital engagement platform derives intelligence from over 4 million meters, transforming energy providers into trusted advisers to their business customers. Our SaaS solutions deliver accurate, insightful, and cost-effective results at scale. Founded in 2010 and privately held, FirstFuel is headquartered in Lexington, MA. For more information about FirstFuel, please visit www.firstfuel.com and follow us on Twitter @FirstFuelSW.

Contacts

Version 2.0 Communications for FirstFuel
Katie Byrne, 617-426-2222
kbyrne@v2comms.com

Contacts

Version 2.0 Communications for FirstFuel
Katie Byrne, 617-426-2222
kbyrne@v2comms.com