New Web site Empowers Consumers to Reduce Energy Costs and Carbon Footprint

Xcel Energy and GridPoint, Inc., announced that 1.4 million residential Colorado utility customers now have access to the My Account site on www.xcelenergy.com using GridPoint’s recently released home energy management solution.

The new portal allows customers to design and personalize both their electric and natural gas energy usage strategies based on their historical energy use. This could potentially save customers money and reduce their carbon footprint, as well as view and soon pay their bill online.

The initial deployment encompasses Xcel Energy’s Colorado service territory. Xcel Energy has the option to extend the program across its entire eight-state service territory after successful implementation in Colorado.

“GridPoint’s software integrates with the utility’s meter data systems and empowers our customers to meet individual energy budget and conservation goals, while providing a rich user experience that we believe our customers will appreciate,” said Jay Herrmann, Xcel Energy regional vice president. “Additionally, GridPoint’s solution will enable us to continually and easily integrate smart grid programs to further increase energy efficiency and reliability.”

Boulder, Colo., customers who qualify for a Demand Side Management pilot project as part of the SmartGridCity pilot program will soon have the ability to control some household devices through the site.

“We are delighted to work with utilities like Xcel Energy that share our belief that empowering residential consumers is fundamental to the success of the smart grid,” said Peter L. Corsell, GridPoint CEO. “Our one-stop home energy management solution encourages frequent, regular engagement that results in the benefits both utilities and consumers desire – cost-effective, efficient energy consumption.”

Key characteristics about the consumer’s home and energy use are gathered through a simple four-step survey and used to provide consumption, cost and carbon footprint estimates. Customers who desire a deeper understanding of their energy use can take advantage of advanced functionality, including graphically displayed billing information and historic consumption patterns.

Enterprise-class server technology allows GridPoint’s home energy management software to deploy rapidly and support millions of households. The customizable design of the consumer portal offers maximum flexibility for future integration of additional smart grid programs like load management, renewable integration, storage management and smart charging programs for plug-in vehicles.

Xcel Energy is a major U.S. electricity and natural gas company with regulated operations in eight Western and Midwestern states. Xcel Energy provides a comprehensive portfolio of energy-related products and services to 3.4 million electricity customers and 1.9 million natural gas customers through its regulated operating companies. Company headquarters are located in Minneapolis. 

www.xcelenergy.com.

GridPoint, Inc., an established leader in smart grid software and services, enables energy producers and consumers to manage the transformation to a smart grid. The company’s software applications integrate, aggregate and manage distributed sources of load, storage and generation. Utilities use GridPoint’s solutions to efficiently balance supply and demand, improve grid reliability and empower consumers with user-friendly software to manage energy consumption. Enterprise customers use GridPoint’s intelligent energy management and revenue-grade sub-metering systems to increase their facilities’ efficiency. GridPoint’s innovative portal connects residential and enterprise customers to the smart grid – providing them with energy information and engaging them in a variety of utility programs, including demand response, solar, storage, sub-metering or even smart charging programs for plug-in vehicles. With GridPoint’s interoperable platform, utility and enterprise customers realize the benefits of energy intelligence. The result is a practical path to developing a clean, efficient 21st century grid.

At GridPoint, we build software applications that integrate, aggregate and manage distributed sources of load, storage and generation. Our innovative consumer portal connects utility customers to the smart grid – providing them with energy information and engaging them in a variety of utility programs, including demand response, solar, storage or even smart charging programs for their plug-in electric vehicles.

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