AEP Ohio has selected OPOWER's engagement platform as the customer-facing solution for its smart grid deployment. Beginning late summer, OPOWER will help the utility provide 70,000 smart-metered homes with contextualized in-home energy data and energy-efficiency advice and tips through mailed paper reports and an online energy management portal.

The OPOWER platform delivers individualized energy usage information through all available channels: the mail, web, phone, in-home displays as well as mobile devices. The cross-channel approach is designed to enable all customers to engage with their energy data and save on their bills, irrespective of income or access to technology. At AEP Ohio, the initial deployment will include the mail and web, and the platform is equipped to include additional device-centric communication channels in the future.

“AEP Ohio’s gridSMART Demonstration Project is designed to provide greater energy control to our customers through enhanced energy usage information and improved efficiency and reliability,” said Joseph Hamrock, president and chief operating officer for AEP Ohio. “The OPOWER platform will help us to attain broad customer engagement and has a track record of achieving real energy savings and positive customer feedback. Through gridSMART, we are giving customers the tools and information needed to use electricity more efficiently.”

OPOWER’s platform combines cross-channel information delivery, usage analytics, cutting-edge behavioral science and household-level content customization to deliver up to 85 percent customer engagement. Currently deployed to more than one million homes, OPOWER products have delivered over 120 GWhs and $14 million in verified energy savings for engaged utility customers.