National Grid's Smart Energy Solutions Program Adds Interactive Energy Savings Features

Infrastructure enhancements significantly reduce customer impact during power outage

WORCESTER, MA. – National Grid today announced it has added new features and functionality to the Smart Energy Solutions Program (SES) online customer portal with the launch of the Virtual Home tool. SES participants can use this interactive view of their home to learn where and how they can reduce their energy usage, and save money.

By implementing simple energy savings tips and shifting energy use to off-peak times, SES participants are seeing the benefits of knowing how much energy they are using. “I really appreciate this program. The smart meter gives me real-time info and I monitor my usage to curtail my high energy usage to off peak times,” said Henry Chamberlain, a National Grid SES customer.

The new Virtual Home feature is part of the SES Program’s online customer engagement portal that is managed by Simple Energy and that provides a range of customer experiences:

• Energy Insights: Help customers better understand their energy use and how to conserve

• Energy Community: View how energy savings stacks up against their neighbors

• Energy Rewards: Allows participants who complete energy efficiency measures to earn points and become eligible for a daily drawing of $25.00 gift cards; top energy savers become eligible for a monthly iPad mini drawing

• Virtual Home: interactive display with over 20 energy efficiency tips. To learn more, see the video below.

SES Infrastructure Update

This winter, a power outage in the Smart Energy Solutions pilot area in Worcester had the potential to adversely impact approximately 1,000 customers. However, as a result of the recent installation of advanced technology on the SES electricity system, National Grid was able to significantly minimize the outage’s impact.

“The advanced communication and monitoring devices that provide detailed power outage information were able to safely and automatically restore power within four minutes to approximately 700 customers,” said Bill Jones, director, National Grid’s Smart Energy Solutions Program. “We are pleased to see that customers are directly benefitting from the improvements we have made.”

An additional 100 customers had their power restored within 15 minutes and the remaining customers within the hour. Without the new capabilities it may have taken close to two hours to restore power. While any outage is not desirable, National Grid was able to assess the performance of the infrastructure and will be able to use these findings to further improve the reliability and performance of the electrical system.

Monitor and Save Energy Anytime, Anywhere!

SES participants may also be able to take advantage of a range of technology tools and options, including the Homeview app from Ceiva Energy that allows customers to remotely monitor and manage their energy use. This includes controlling in-home devices such as smart thermostats and smart plugs. Customers will also receive notifications via phone call, email or text message in advance of Peak Events—certain hours throughout the year (typically during summer months) when electricity costs are high and there are capacity constraints due to the high use of electricity.

January 2015 marked the official start of the two-year Smart Energy Solutions (SES) program—the most comprehensive smart grid pilot underway in the Northeast with nearly 15,000 participating customers in Worcester, MA. SES customers can visit https://www.nationalgrid.com/smartenergy to learn more and to enroll in the online customer portal and to choose their technology package.

About National Grid

About National Grid: National Grid (NYSE: NGG) is an electricity, natural gas, and clean energy delivery company serving more than 20 million people through our networks in New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. National Grid is transforming our electricity and natural gas networks with smarter, cleaner, and more resilient energy solutions to meet the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. 

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