Con Edison has purchased additional licenses for Itron Customer Care software solutions to meet a new requirement for mandatory day-ahead hourly pricing, which was imposed by the New York State Public Service Commission.

Con Edison is one of the nation’s largest investor-owned energy companies, based in New York City. Already a long-time Itron customer, the utility was looking to leverage its existing infrastructure and expand its software tools to meet the requirement to provide day-ahead hourly pricing. The new policy aims to stimulate a competitive energy market for large commercial and industrial customers by requiring them to take electric service under the utility's day-ahead hourly pricing tariff or consider purchasing power from a third-party energy retailer.

Eileen Egan-Annechino, a manager of marketing and sales for Con Edison, said commercial and industrial energy bills will now be based on hour-by-hour consumption, so that large commercial and industrial customers have the ability to view their energy usage and manage it more proactively. Con Edison expanded Itron’s Customer Care software package to include consulting services, analysis, rate modeling and cost analysis. The affected customers include stadiums, large high-rise buildings and hospitals.

“Through the expansion of Itron’s Customer Care software, we are able to provide information to our customers, enabling them to respond to mandatory day-ahead hourly pricing.” said Egan-Annechino. “Itron helped us develop the appropriate rates for use and the Customer Care software is able to calculate and compare the various energy components of the bill. This will better reflect the cost of energy in our state.”

Philip Mezey, senior vice president for Itron software solutions, said Itron has helped Con Edison identify customers affected by the new energy tariff imposed this year.