Ecova Launches Home Energy Plan for Utility Clients
February 07 2012 - 7:09PM
Business Wire
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 the total 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.
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