Siemens Smart Grid has released Energy Engage Mobile, the company’s first mobile-web application that brings energy consumption information directly to the consumer’s fingertips helping utilities connect with their customers. Users can track electricity, water, or gas use in near real-time and view their estimated bill. The mobile-enabled site displays account alerts and tips as well as price information, allowing users to see current cost of electricity per unit and shift usage to off-peak times to avoid higher energy rates.
“It’s essential in today’s ever-connected world that we put energy usage information directly into the hands of utility customers,” said Lisa Caswell, president of eMeter, A Siemens Business. “Utilities can provide Energy Engage Mobile to their customer’s whether they be Commercial and Industrial clients or residential, to help meet energy efficiency and customer satisfaction goals, and complement engagement initiatives around smart grid programs.”
In a recent study by J.D. Power, utilities were shown lacking in content and information delivery via their websites. Energy Engage Mobile empowers utility professionals to deliver web content to their consumers and enable customer engagement via a multichannel communication strategy.
The City of Fort Collins, Colorado, is the first utility in the world to offer Energy Engage Mobile to its utility customers. The solution has been the backbone of the city’s in-novative advanced metering project, allowing customers access to see 60 minute interval reads for water use and 15 minute interval reads for electric usage a substantial improvement from once a month updates of consumption data that City of Fort Collins consumers are used to seeing.
“At Fort Collins, we really see a mobile solution as the heart and soul of our smart grid efforts,” said Steve Catanach, Light and Power manager at the Fort Collins Utilities. “The app and website is something the consumer can see, interact with, and benefit from, allowing them to better manage their energy use and providing us the opportunity to deliver a higher level of customer service.”
Through the mobile web app, consumers have an option to either work with their utilities on specific energy efficiency programs or to freely amend energy usage on their own. These features are powerful for both energy consumers and their utilities to interact around price and demand response programs in an effective manner. The Energy Engage Mobile website and application is powered by the eMeter EnergyIP platform, the leading software platform for smart energy data management.
