CHICAGO & ST. LOUIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nearly 6,500 randomly selected ComEd customers with smart meters are participating in a six-month pilot that will help them efficiently manage and reduce their energy use and save money. The pilot is part of a partnership with Chicago-based electric utility ComEd, and MeterGenius, a start-up company focused on customer engagement solutions for energy providers. The partnership itself is an outcome of ComEd’s SmartGridExchange℠ forum that connects the utility with local universities and start-ups to explore and design new innovative products and services that help customers benefit from smart grid technology.
Pilot participants will have unlimited access to MeterGenius’ web and mobile applications, which will allow them to budget and track the details of their energy usage by the hour, day, week or month. They also will receive monthly communications with customizable tips on how to lower their electricity bills, and energy-efficient habit reminders such as defrosting your freezer on a regular basis in order to increase its efficiency.
“Innovative smart meter solutions benefit our customers by giving them control to monitor their energy use, lower their consumption and reduce their monthly electric costs,” said Val Jensen, ComEd’s senior vice president of Customer Operations.
In addition, by using MeterGenius’ tools participating customers can earn points that can be redeemed for gift cards and energy efficient products, as well as register for weekly competitions with other program participants to see who can lower their electricity consumption the most.
“By providing incentives for customers to control electricity use, we believe we can help promote sustainable energy habits while also helping customers save money,” said MeterGenius CEO Ty Benefiel. “We are thrilled to be working with ComEd on this project and hope this can be expanded upon in the future.”
MeterGenius, a technology startup created in Northwestern University’s NUvention (an energy entrepreneurship course) also won first place in the Illinois Clean Energy Student Challenge 2014, a business competition sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and administered by Chicago-based Clean Energy Trust. MeterGenius leverages the smart meter network to show participants their 30-minute usage data.
About ComEd
Commonwealth Edison Company (ComEd) is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC), the nation’s leading competitive energy provider, with approximately 7.8 million customers. ComEd provides service to approximately 3.8 million customers across northern Illinois, or 70 percent of the state’s population. For more information visit ComEd.com, and connect with the company on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
About MeterGenius
MeterGenius, which is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, is a customer engagement solution company for electricity providers. MeterGenius builds Web and mobile applications that electricity providers can offer to their customers in order to help them lower their energy consumption and get rewarded for doing so. By changing the way residential customers think about electricity, MeterGenius is helping electricity providers leverage smart grid technology to create smarter, more energy-conscious consumers. For more information, visit metergenius.com or connect with the company on Facebook and Twitter.
