SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, CA and HILLSBOROUGH, NC — (Marketwire) — 03/05/12 — TextPower, a provider of software and text messaging (SMS) gateway services, today announced that Piedmont EMC, a member-owned electric cooperative serving customers in 6 counties of North Carolina near Raleigh-Durham, has added TextPower–s SMS text messaging service to provide Piedmont EMC members with real-time alerts as part of the cooperative–s “Beat the Peak” program.
The program provides instant alerts to member customers prior to predicted heavy usage periods and encourages shutting off unnecessary lights and adjusting thermostats during these times of peak usage. A large part of power supply cost is determined by energy used during peak load periods when people are using the greatest amount of electricity. If demand is reduced during these peak times, Piedmont Electric can reduce its power costs and save its members money.
Since Piedmont Electric is a member-owned cooperative, their goal is to provide reliable power at the lowest possible cost. Beat the Peak is designed to help take control of higher power costs through energy conservation during high demand periods. Reducing the peak billing load will help delay the need for costly generating plants.
Piedmont Electric chose TextPower due to its growing reputation for quality service in the utility industry and its integration with Piedmont–s IVR system.
“Piedmont EMC–s focus on lowering our wholesale power costs resulted in finding a text messaging service to support our Beat the Peak voluntary program. The text messaging service needed to depict a professional product, not infringe upon our members privacy, be cost effective and easily implemented by our employees,” said Richard Mabbott, Piedmont–s Chief Operating Officer. “TextPower was able to meet these objectives and they continue to provide excellent customer service for their product.”
As the TextPower text service is added by more Piedmont customers, Piedmont expects their members to immediately see the value of receiving instant information alerts to better manage their power usage and keep their electricity costs lower.
“We–re honored that Piedmont EMC chose us to provide text messaging to their members in order to reduce peak usage in real-time,” said Mark Nielsen, TextPower–s co-founder and executive chairman. “By integrating our text messaging platform with their Milsoft IVR system, Piedmont is able to easily reach their customers immediately, while significantly improving customer service and reducing their power costs.”
TextPower is helping cooperatives like Piedmont to significantly upgrade their customer service and communication through the ability to receive and send immediate text messages about such things as outages, load shedding alerts, delinquencies, appointment scheduling, and other services using TextPower–s SmartAlert text service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
TextPower integrates with an organization–s back-office systems to create event-triggered alerts that let senior management decide the criteria so that when something happens or reaches a predetermined threshold, alerts are automatically sent to a mobile or group of cell phones, advising them of the occurrence. To benefit from TextPower–s SmartAlert suite of software capabilities, simply add TextPower–s SOAP interface (API) into internal IT systems.
For more information about TextPower–s services for utilities or other industries call 818.222.8600, email or visit the TextPower web site at .
TextPower, Inc. provides alerts and authentication solutions to a variety of industries worldwide using text messaging (SMS). The company–s software and text messaging services allow companies to use texting to enhance their revenues, decrease costs and improve customer service. TextPower–s authentication product, TextKey, replaces the token or security fob previously needed to verify the identity of online users for password-protected applications. TextPower–s mission-critical infrastructure employs geo-redundancy for the industry–s highest reliability, providing delivery to virtually every cell phone in the United States and connections to most recognized wireless operators around the world. Visit , email or call 888.818.1808 for more information.
Piedmont Electric, a Touchstone Energy Cooperative based in Hillsborough, North Carolina, is a nonprofit electric utility serving 32,000 member-consumers in parts of Alamance, Caswell, Durham, Granville, Orange and Person counties.
For more information contact:
Dan Chmielewski
Madison Alexander PR
714-832-8716