ARLINGTON, VA — (Marketwired) — 10/09/13 — Opower, the global leader in customer engagement solutions for the utility industry, today announced that in partnership with its 90 utility clients, it has saved 3 terawatt hours (TWhs) of energy — enough to power all the homes in a city of 600,000 people for a year, such as Las Vegas, Baltimore or Bristol, UK. The company now serves 22 million consumers and businesses worldwide with its platform, primarily through digital outreach.
“Opower was founded with the goal of changing the way that people think about and engage with their energy use,” said Dan Yates, CEO and Founder of Opower. “The growing global demand for our cloud-based software has led to powerful outcomes for our utility partners and the customers they serve. To date, we have put over $350 million back into the pockets of families and businesses. Worldwide, we have proven that targeted, relevant, intuitive data and recommendations spur households and businesses to reduce energy consumption and save money.”
Opower–s energy efficiency, demand response and customer care solutions, enabled by its leading customer engagement platform, Opower 4, continue to gain traction. Over the past two quarters, Opower has:
Added eight new utility partners, including Kansas City Power & Light
Expanded several existing utility partnerships, including DTE Energy
Announced the the largest utility in the world, serving all 5 million E.ON UK customers
Expanded its platform to 8 million new residential and business end-users
Opower expects to announce additional international and domestic partnerships in 2013.
In September, Opower announced the availability of its new Unlike traditional demand response programs that rely on devices in customers– homes, Opower BDR allows utilities to quickly deploy cost-effective demand response capability to their entire residential customer base, achieving 9X the reach of traditional device-based strategies. Opower BDR uses smart meter data to deliver through their communication channel of choice, motivating them to reduce usage during times of peak demand, such as hot days when air conditioner use is high. During a typical peak event, Opower will send approximately 250,000 digital outbound messages.
In addition, Opower continues to develop personalized digital tools that engage customers in real-time:
The majority of customers on the Opower platform receive only digital communications
At the core of Opower–s approach is outbound messaging — the company has sent more than 18 million outbound digital communications to date
Opower sends approximately 1.5 million personalized emails each month to end-users
Opower–s workforce also continues to grow to support the increasing global demand for its solutions. By the end of 2013, Opower will employ 500 people across four offices in Arlington, VA, San Francisco, London and Singapore. This quarter, Opower opened new office spaces in San Francisco and London, and to serve as the company–s APAC headquarters.
In September, , SVP Products and User Experience at LinkedIn Corporation, joined the company–s Board of Directors. Both Mr. Ryu and Mr. Nishar are widely regarded as industry leaders in the technology sector, and bring unique perspectives to help guide Opower–s growth.
Saving 3 TWhs, or 3 billion kilowatt-hours, is equivalent to reducing consumers– utility bills by $350 million and abating 4.6 billion pounds of CO2 emissions. Opower–s cumulative impact is equivalent to removing 450,000 passenger vehicles from the road , preserving 16,000 acres of forest from deforestation, and is five times the annual energy output of the world–s largest solar photovoltaic power plant.
In 2013, Opower received several awards in recognition of its innovative platform and sustainable impact. In July, Opower received the WWF Green Game-Changes Innovation award; in May, the company was named to the inaugural ; and in April, Opower was selected as a
Working with 90 utility partners and serving more than 22 million consumers across seven countries, Opower is the world–s leading provider of customer engagement solutions for the utility industry. By providing the tools, information and incentives consumers need to make smarter decisions about their energy use, Opower–s engagement platform and solution suite, Opower 4, enables utilities to involve their customers in programs that support energy efficiency goals, smart grid and new rate structures, brand loyalty and lowering the cost of service. Proven to drive behavioral change at scale, Opower has helped its utility partners achieve more than 3 TWhs in energy savings, and drives significant increases in customer program participation and overall customer satisfaction. Founded in 2007 and privately held, Opower is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, with offices in San Francisco, London and Singapore. For more information, please visit and follow us on Twitter at @Opower.
Contact:
Carly Llewellyn