Dive Brief:
- AEP Ohio has selected Michigan-based Powerley's home energy management solution for its 1.5 million customers, allowing control over multiple devices through smartphone apps and other technologies.
- Through the "It’s Your Power" program, customers will also be offered a Powerley Thermostat, which AEP will use for demand response programs.
- Powerley says it is the first company offering an integrated and real-time home energy management within a complete smart home solution. The company's offerings allow consumers to manage energy use through mobile devices, wearable technology and through Amazon's voice-directed assistant Alexa.
Dive Insight:
AEP's program page for It's Your Power looks more like an app-store offering, with download links and step-by-step directions for how to connect and program a customer's phone and other devices. Combined with Powerley's boasts that it connects with wearable technology and an in-home assistance, it represents a new brand of utility-to-customer offering.
The company touts its speed and ease of installation: it look Powerley less than a year to move from initial internal testing to AEP's full-scale rollout. The app was downloaded more than 10,000 times in three months, the company said.
“Powerley’s solution allows utilities to ‘go beyond the meter’ to swiftly innovate the customer experience by providing consumers with a real-time window into their energy usage," Kumar said. "Bridging the smart home to the smart grid, utilities can drive innovation, efficiency and engagement.”
Customers increasingly expect sophisticated energy offerings and sleek interfaces from their utilities, which are now partnering with tech companies to turn new products into energy resources.
According to Cisco, in the next four years internet-connected devices will account for more than half of the world's 27 billion gadgets. In the energy space, those will include water heaters, electric vehicle chargers, pool pumps and more, allowing utilities to shift demand to off-peak hours.
