MORGAN HILL, Calif., April 23, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The OpenADR Alliance, a nonprofit corporation created to foster the development, adoption and compliance of the Open Automated Demand Response (OpenADR) Smart Grid standard, today announced the addition of several new members to bring total membership to 100. New members from Japan, Europe, and North America - representing utilities, independent system operators (ISO), regulators and control suppliers, signify a growing interest worldwide in the OpenADR 2.0 standard. The growing global interest in OpenADR will help accelerate the worldwide adoption of automated demand response solutions and enable utilities, system operators and customers better manage peak energy demand.
New member companies include: Alpha Systems, Inc.; Austin Energy; California ISO; CALM Energy, Inc.; CastleOS Software, LLC; Eaton's Cooper Power Systems Division; Connexx Energy; Daikan McQuay, Daintree Networks, EcoFactor, Eneres Co., Ltd.; Enlighted Inc., GRIDWIZ, Hitachi, Ltd.; IC Systems; Institute for Information Industry; MelRok, LLC; Mitsubishi Electric Corporation; Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp.; Nxegen, LLC; OMRON; Pacific Controls; Plimoth Bay Controls, LLC; Power Assure; Powerit Solutions; Schneider Electric; The Institute of Applied Energy; THG Energy Solutions, LLC; TOSHIBA Corporation; Tridium Inc.; TUV Rheinland Japan Ltd.; Ventyx . To view all sponsor, contributor and adopter members please visit, http://www.openadr.org/members.
"As our membership continues to expand worldwide, so does our ability to accelerate the market for standards-based automated demand response," said Barry Haaser, managing director, OpenADR Alliance. "Our goal is to deliver OpenADR-compliant products and services that provide seamless and more efficient connections between wholesale electricity markets, aggregators and customer loads."
"Schneider Electric has followed the development of OpenADR since LBNL's initial development because it fills the need for a standard method of energy communications between provider and customer," said Phil Davis, senior manager, Demand Resource Center, Schneider Electric. "This is a critical practical tool necessary to support a sustainable energy future."
"Austin Energy is developing and beginning implementation of demand response programs that provide customers choices and options through open standards such as those developed by the Open ADR Alliance," said Scott Jarman PE, consulting engineer, Austin Energy. "Open standards are a foundational component of our plan that we believe will benefit the industry, utilities, and consumers. The benefits of increased grid reliability and meeting increasing demand in a cost-effective manner are key attributes, however we see synergies in other areas such as customer engagement that we are beginning to explore and understand," he added.
The OpenADR 2.0a specification was released in August of 2012. The OpenADR 2.0a profile specification was designed to support the simplest devices installed in commercial, industrial and residential environments to enable broad-based and completely automated participation in DR events. The OpenADR 2.0b draft profile specification is available for download on the OpenADR Alliance website - http://www.openadr.org/specification. OpenADR 2.0b is designed for high-end embedded devices that can support most DR services and markets and includes a flexible reporting (feedback) mechanism for past, current and future data reports.
About the OpenADR Alliance
The OpenADR Alliance fosters the development, adoption, and compliance of the Open Automated Demand Response (OpenADR) standard through collaboration, education, training, testing, and certification. The OpenADR Alliance is open to all interested stakeholders interested in accelerating the adoption of the OpenADR standard for price- and reliability-based demand response. More information can be obtained at http://www.openadr.org/