SAN DIEGO, Jan. 28, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- DISTRIBUTECH -- Energate Inc., a leading, innovative provider of residential demand response (DR) for utilities and home energy management solutions for their customers, today announced its Consumer Connected Demand Response™ (CCDR) Platform for a two-way residential demand response solution has been qualified to operate over Sensus' FlexNet™ Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) technology. Additional Energate products that are qualified for FlexNet include in-home devices such as Energate's Foundation™ Smart Thermostat and Home Energy Gateway, along with Energate Load Switches and In-Home Displays. Each of these Energate products qualify for funding as part of the Ontario Power Authority's (OPA's) peaksaver PLUS program. PowerStream, the second largest municipally-owned local distribution company in Ontario delivering power to more than 335,000 customers, is scheduled to be the first utility to install CCDR over FlexNet early this year. [NOTE: Energate will exhibit this week at DistribuTECH 2013 in Booth 837.]
PowerStream will be leveraging Energate's home energy management and demand response solution to deliver OPA's peaksaver PLUS program to residential customers as a means of reducing energy consumption during periods of peak demand over its existing FlexNet investment. This two-way demand response solution will provide PowerStream with Energate's load management system, and gives consumers convenient control over their energy usage through real-time in-home information and price responsive load management.
Energate's CCDR is a comprehensive suite of hardware and software solutions that bridge the gap between utilities, aggregators, local distribution companies, and consumers. It does so by delivering to utilities an advanced load management system that provides the ability to reduce peak demand. CCDR also provides consumers with ZigBee-enabled smart thermostats, load control switches and in-home displays, along with mobile applications and web portals to help them make informed energy consumption choices that align with the smart energy programs being offered by utilities.
"Energate's CCDR interoperability with our FlexNet utility communications network provides utilities and consumers with a powerful energy management solution," said Matt Ferguson, director of marketing at Sensus. "This level of interoperability with Energate is yet another example of Sensus technology providing the flexibility that utilities need to communicate with their customers' home area networks."
PowerStream is planning on deploying Energate's Foundation the industry's first extensible Home Energy Gateway that supports utility residential demand response programs. Foundation combines an in-home display, load control, load management, automatic dynamic price response and an industry leading smart thermostat in a simple, single unit with multi–radio capability. These combined capabilities provide information, insights, and control to monitor and manage all of a home's energy usage.
"We are pleased PowerStream will be our first customer to install Energate's CCDR platform over Sensus' FlexNet AMI. This is another important validation of our leadership role in helping utilities, aggregators and local distribution companies address peak energy use now and in the future," said Niraj Bhargava, Energate's co-founder and Chief Executive Officer. "By working seamlessly between their Sensus AMI and Energate's CCDR platform, PowerStream's demand response initiative will become an excellent showcase for other utilities across North America."
About Energate
Energate (www.energateinc.com) is a leading provider of demand response and home energy management solutions including software, wireless communications, gateways, smart thermostats, switches and consumer energy displays. The Consumer Connected Demand Response (CCDR™) solution allows utilities to immediately address residential energy demand and empowers consumers to more effectively manage their energy use. Energate products seamlessly connect to the Smart Grid to deal with supply and demand challenges, the increased use of renewables and dynamic rate structures. Founded in 2004, Energate is headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario with offices in California, Illinois, Texas and Toronto.