NORCROSS, Ga., Nov. 12, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Comverge, Inc., the leading provider of cloud-based demand response and energy efficiency solutions for electric utilities, today announced Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. will implement its integrated demand response and energy efficiency solutions as part of a targeted demand management program focused on alleviating constrained load pockets in the utility’s service territory. This project was developed in conjunction with New York State’s Reforming the Energy Vision (REV), a statewide effort to develop a new regulatory framework that includes incentives for utilities to leverage the targeted and coordinated deployment of distributed energy resources such as demand response to address problems traditionally handled by new investments in centralized generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure.
“We selected Comverge due to the company’s proven track record of delivering high rates of customer participation in demand management programs and meeting the demand reduction goals of their utility partners,” said Anthony Campagiorni, Vice President of Business Development and Governmental Affairs at Central Hudson. “The program provides a lower cost alternative to traditional infrastructure investments while enabling Central Hudson to serve anticipated peak load growth in three distinct zones without requiring any additional infrastructure. It will also help us to integrate distributed energy resources into our electric transmission and distribution planning and operations functions.”
Comverge’s IntelliSOURCE cloud-based software will provide the foundation for the program, leveraging its integrated capabilities as a demand response management system, a customer engagement portal and a customer care and work management system to ensure data is seamlessly linked across all program aspects. Central Hudson will also implement various Wi-Fi smart thermostats and utilize the award-winning IntelliMARKET participant recruitment service and IntelliSUPPORT program administration service. The program will target all customer classes, including residential and small to mid-sized business as well as larger commercial and industrial customers.
Comverge and Central Hudson will work together to provide customers with an integrated customer engagement portal. The portal will feature personalized energy insights driven by thermostat, meter and weather data to help customers achieve energy efficiency savings.
Additionally, Comverge was selected by Central Hudson to deliver a dynamic load management program consisting of a territory-wide bring-your-own-device (BYOD) program, allowing customers to participate with their own Wi-Fi thermostats.
“We are honored that Central Hudson selected Comverge to implement its targeted demand management program,” said Gregory J. Dukat, Comverge Chairman, President and CEO. “As a pioneer in demand management solutions, it is rewarding to see the evolution of demand response into an increasingly flexible resource that can be used by utilities for operational benefits, rather than just emergency purposes. We look forward to working with Central Hudson to help the company exceed its program objectives.”
About Comverge
Comverge is the industry’s leading provider of integrated cloud-based demand response, energy efficiency and customer engagement solutions that enable electric utilities to ensure grid reliability, lower energy costs, meet regulatory demands and enhance the customer experience. Through its combination of software, hardware and services, Comverge helps utilities optimize every aspect of a demand management program, from participant recruitment and device installation to call center support, control events and measurement and verification. Comverge has worked with hundreds of electric utilities to deploy nearly six million energy management devices and enroll more than 1.8 million residential customers into mass-market demand management programs. In July 2015, Navigant Research ranked Comverge the industry’s number one demand response provider. For more information, visit www.comverge.com and follow us on Twitter at @Comverge.
About Central Hudson
Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corporation is a regulated transmission and distribution utility serving approximately 300,000 electric and about 75,000 natural gas customers in eight counties of New York State’s Mid-Hudson River Valley. A subsidiary of Fortis Inc., Central Hudson is headquartered in Poughkeepsie and delivers natural gas and electricity in a 2,600-square-mile service territory that extends north from the suburbs of metropolitan New York City to the Capital District at Albany.