Source: Ecova press release, February 7, 2012. Northwest Innovation News, February 8, 2012.
Ecova—a total energy and sustainability management company—today announced an alliance with Aclara—a leader in innovative consumer engagement portals, utility data management, and intelligent infrastructure – to launch the Home Energy Plan. At their choosing, a consumer can sign up to review their historical energy consumption and other home data to identify savings areas through the Home Energy Plan. This creates a new way for utilities to drive long-term consumer engagement and energy savings that encompass the customer’s entire home.
The Home Energy Plan uses software to create My Energy Insights, a home energy report with real energy usage data and personalized efficiency tips for each consumer’s household. These detailed and easy-to-understand reports are then used during a voluntary in-home consultation with an energy expert who can install basic energy savings measures, providing maximum efficiency for the utility and the customer.
“This program is a step towards a future where utilities and consumers engage in an ongoing dialogue to reduce energy use—and it is being implemented right now,” said Jon Thomsen, president, Utility Division, Ecova. “Engaging consumers in energy efficiency programs is not unique, but the use of comprehensive and comparative energy use data to inform a home visit, and a robust follow-up campaign that provides pertinent recommendations is. The Home Energy Plan builds on our deep expertise helping utilities market energy efficiency to consumers and takes our current in-home energy efficiency programs to the next level.”
Ecova’s utility programs are designed to provide utility clients with more insight, more consumer engagement and more cost-effective energy savings. On-site visits by utility representatives are necessary to capture the best energy savings, but they can be expensive. The Home Energy Plan is designed to help the utility make the most out of each visit by doing more homework upfront and continuing the energy discussion with follow-up communication, creating a true partnership with the consumer. This enables a utility’s consumers to have a better understanding of their energy use and capture more savings. By leveraging usage data, consumer preferences and marketing knowledge, it ensures the utility can offer an individualized plan that will both lower energy use and build consumer satisfaction.
How it works: Working with the utility company, Ecova and Aclara pull a consumer’s energy usage data based on utility records. With this data, the companies use proprietary algorithms to create detailed energy use profiles and reports. The My Energy Insights reports highlight a consumer’s energy use for the household during the last year, the customer’s energy use compared to similar neighbors, as well as showcase the biggest energy end uses.
Ecova then works directly with program participants to lower energy use:
- Each participant in a direct installation program or recipient of an efficiency kit receives a report that gives an overview of their energy use.
- When a field representative visits the home, they review the report with the consumer, install efficiency measures, conduct an on-site energy assessment and explain the savings from the products installed and potential future saving.
- Ecova then uses the information gathered before and during the visit to conduct follow-up recommendations for additional efficiency programs and savings, and gathers participant’s contact information to open up communication channels.
- Ecova can also take actual data from the home audit and upload it to Aclara’s online tools, leveraging real data to ensure an accuracy level previously unseen and help drive utility online services
Success in the Midwest: The new initiative builds on an award-winning pilot program Ecova’s joint venture company, Solutions for Energy Efficiency Logistics (SEEL), ran with a large Mid-Western utility in 2011. After SEEL proved that the concept worked, Ecova broadened the program to provide the insights from a My Energy Insights report and additional marketing. SEEL is now targeting 30,000 of the utility’s customers each year, who will receive an in-home consultation to review the report and assessment. Each customer will then receive follow-up communication to help drive additional participation in residential programs, utilizing Ecova’s nationally recognized marketing team to develop best practice campaigns.
About Ecova: Ecova is thetotal energy and sustainability management company whose sole purpose is to see more, save more, and sustain more for its clients. Using insights based on consumption, cost and carbon footprint data spanning thousands of utilities, hundreds of thousands of business sites and millions of households, Ecova provides fully managed, technology-optimized solutions for saving resources, which in turn increase returns, lower risks, and enhance reputations. Ecova is the largest non-regulated subsidiary of Avista Corp (NYSE: AVA and avistacorp.com). For more information, visit the company’s website at ecova.com, on LinkedIn at linkd.in/ecovainc, or follow Ecova on Twitter at @ecovainc.
About Aclara: Aclara® represents the industry’s leading Intelligent Infrastructure technologies for providing device networking, data-value management, and customer communications to water, gas, and electric utilities globally. Over 500 utilities in nine countries rely on proven Aclara solutions to connect with their customers. Aclara Technologies LLC is part of the Utility Solutions Group of ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE: ESE), St. Louis. Create Your Intelligent Infrastructure™ www.Aclara.com.
About SEEL: Solutions for Energy Efficient Logistics (SEEL) is a minority business enterprise joint venture between Motor City International and Ecova. SEEL provides energy and sustainability management solutions through a variety of utility programs that deliver value to the utility’s customers. SEEL can manage all aspects of program design, implementation and management, consumer-focused marketing and customer engagement.