13 January: "ENGIE North America Adds Nearly 2 GW of Renewable Energy in the U.S. in 2020," ENGIE North America press release.

13 January: "CTA Announces 2021 Smart Home Division Mark of Excellence Award Winners," CE Pro. “Energy Efficiency Product of the Year” - Logical Buildings, GridRewards.

08 January: "New Jersey Approves PSE&G's $778 Smart Meter Rollout," Greentech Media. Approval comes with regulator demand for energy data sharing.

31 December: "Top 10 Utility Regulation Trends of 2020," Greentech Media. #10 [Energy] Data Platforms Take Shape.

16 December: "Energy Department Announces $45 Million in Funding for Solar Technologies," U.S. Department of Energy post.

16 December: "Op-Ed: Smart Energy is Smart Policy," NJ Spotlight News.

14 December: "S&P Global Platts Names ENGIE 'Energy Company of the Year'," ENGIE Resources blog post.

07 December: "Companies Announce New Residential VPP for California," Power Magazine, OhmConnect.

03 December: "Fort Collins Utilities Launches MyData, Powered By UtilityAPI," UtilityAPI blog post.

02 December: "PUC Approves CUBs Petition for Open Data Access Standards," Minnesota Citizens Utility Board (CUB) blog post.

10 November: "Techstars Alabama EnergyTech Startup Spotlight: Virimodo," Alabama NewsCenter, Virimodo.

27 October: "London Hydro Builds on Past Success to Launch New Pilot," London Hydro Press Release.

09 September: "EnerWisely Confirms Energy Star Partnership for Energy Efficiency," EnerWisely press release.

CS Week announced the winners of their annual Expanding Excellence Awards, showcasing utilities that have “implemented major systems, aligned people with process and technology, used home-grown or market-based solutions to improve operations, and enhanced customer experience.” 

The awards are given in pairs: to utilities with annual revenues of USD $500M+ (Level I) and to utilities with annual revenues below $500M (Level II).

Green Button Alliance Sponsor Members, PECO (Exelon Corporation) and London Hydro, won the “Innovation in Digital Customer Engagement” awards (Level I & II, respectively) for showcasing “technologically complex projects that improve services in the meter-to-cash customer experience lifecycle.” 

Green Button Alliance member Southern California Edison won the “Innovation in People & Process” award in the Level I category for “projects that emphasize soft skills, general solutions and non-automated, low-tech approaches to engage customers and improve services in the meter-to-cash customer experience lifecycle.” 

The Green Button Alliance is proud to congratulate our forward-looking member companies on these prestigious achievements and recognition.  For more information and to see all of the winners, visit the following link to read the CS Week organizers’ press release:
http://www.csforms.org/Expanding_Excellence_Awards/2020 EEA/2020_EEA_Press_Release.pdf

19 June: "Dispatches from Grid Edge innovation Summit," Greentech Media. UtilityAPI quoted.
17 June: "Bill Awaiting Sunuhu's Signature Would Create Statewide Database on Consumer Energy Use," New Hampshire Union Leader.
14 June: "Union Gas Merger with Enbridge Inc. Made Official in Chatham-Kent," BlackburnNews.com.
13 June: "Mega Summer Aims to Mobilize Californians in Energy Savings Program," Valley News. OhmConnect program featured.
11 June: "Chris Crane Elected EEI Chairman; Ben Fowke and Gerry Anderson Elected Vice Chairmen," Edison Electric Institute press release.
07 May: "States Look to Boost Access to Energy Usage Data," American Public Power Association.
06 May: "Commissioner McAllister talks About Importance of Energy Data Use and Accessibility," California Energy Commission blog.
03 May: "50 States of Grid Modernization: Q1 2019 Quarterly Report, May 2019," by North Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center.
02 May: "Simplifying the Process of Retrieving Usage Data," by EnergyToolbase and UtilityAPI.

The Green Button Alliance’s 2019 Annual General Meeting to be held at CS Week

The Green Button Alliance’s Annual General Meeting will gather digital utilities, energy-efficiency innovators, governmental agencies, research institutes, and affiliate organizations interested in learning about the latest on the industry’s Green Button energy data-access and secure data-sharing standard.

GBA members and non-members are invited to attend the 1-hour face-to-face meeting being held at CS Week in Phoenix, Arizona, on Wednesday, 10 April, from 8:30-9:30 am MST (arrive at 8:15 to meet everyone).

Those that are unable to attend in-person may participate remotely; RSVP either way. 

The meeting will address:

• Green Button 2018 Accomplishments
• Green Button Connect My Data Technical Update
• Green Button 2019 & Look Ahead

RSVP to participate in the GBA’s Annual General Meeting — whether you’re attending in-person, or via web/dial-in. 

https://www.evite.com/event/0220D53JEYEWAAWNYEPJI5JU4KF2UY/rsvp 

   

23 February: "Gaming the Grid," Sierra Magazine. OhmConnect featured.
18 February: "NH Electric Customers Should Demand Their Data," by D. Maurice Kreis, Power to the People column, co-published by Manchester Ink Link and InDepthNH.org. Green Button standards featured.
15 February: "Standards Key to Unlocking Advanced Metering Data Benefits for Customers, Utilities," Daily Energy Insider. Green Button standards featured.
11 February: "CPUC Approves Energy Storage Net Metering," Energy Toolbase.
06 February: "eIQ Mobility Raises Seed Round from Schneider Electric Ventures. Annette Clayton, CEO and President, North America Operations at Schneider Electric Joins Board," eIQ Mobility press release.
01 February: "Logical Buildings Closes $3.5 Million Series C-1 Offering as SmartKitTMAI Smart Building Software Platform Expands Nationally, Achieving 35% Growth in Adoption During Q4 2018," Logical Buildings press release.
01 February: "Green Button Alliance Members Set to Impart Expertise at Key Industry Events," Green Button Alliance press release.
30 January: "London Hydro: Leading the Industry in Green Button Innovation," The Distributor, Winter 2019.
29 January: "Green Button Alliance Member UtilityAPI's New Utility Data Exchange Platform Certified Green Button Connect My Data (CMD) Compliant," Green Button Alliance press release.
29 January: "Energy Smart Community, Ithaca and Tomkins County, NY," Smart Energy International. Notes NYSEG has made Green Button DMD & CMD available.
25 January: "Green New Deal Needs to Include Agriculture Technology," Forbes. Wexus Technologies included.

29 January 2019: "ComEd's Smart Grid Starts to Pay Dividends in Northern Illinois", T&D World.

15 January 2019: "Software Solutions Help Installers Sell More Solar + Storage," Solar Power World. EnergyToolbase featured.

14 January 2019: "Energy Data Portability," Report by Mission:data Coalition; Green Button Connect My Data growth featured.

11 January 2019: "Con Edison Unveils Unique Residential Smart Energy Pilot," Smart Energy International.

10 January 2019: "Can Private Industry Solve Our Climate Crisis Where Governments Fail?", Forbes. OhmConnect featured.

07 January 2019: "ZOME Wins Best of Show, Launches New Products," ZOME press release.

01 January 2019: "Growing a Sustainable Food System: How Entrepreneurs Are Applying Advanced Technologies to Reinvent Our Approach to Food Security and Sustainability", Village Capital. Wexus Technologies featured.

05 September 2019: "CHEC and CustomerFirst Sign Advocacy Partnership Agreement", CustomerFirst news.

John Gurski, founder & CEO of GBA Participating Member company Energy Toolbase is awarded with a spot on Renewable Energy World’s inaugural “Solar 40 Under 40” list at Intersolar; highlighting leaders under the age of 40 in the solar industry: 

https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2018/07/renewable-energy-world-announces-its-inaugural-solar-40-under-40.html

"Texas Smart Meter Settlement Could Grow Market for Energy Products," by Robert Walton, Utility Dive, notes that Texas regulators have approved recommendations to improve and streamline the state's smart meter data portal, including standardizing data transfers to be more in line with the Green Button Connect My Data standard.  Recommended reading: "Texas Decision Enhances Customer Choice of Enhanced Energy Providers" by Michael Murray, Mission:data Coalition.

"Survey: Solar Companies Want Software to Speed Growth, Manage Utility Rates," by Julia Pyper, Greentech Media.  Survey finds access to standardized Green Button energy usage data is a priority for solar software market and and also notes GBA members Energy Toolbase and UtilityAPI as popular software platforms.

"KWHCoin Aims to Build an Advanced Energy Economy that Connects Us All," by Tech Company News.  Interview with GBA member Girard Newkirk, CEO of GBA Member company: KWHCoin, regarding KWHCoin technology, partnerships and vision.

"NEM's 21st Annual Restructuring Conference Focuses on Next Phase of Consumer Choice Innovation and Opportunities in Energy Markets," Jeff Hendler, CEO of GBA member company: ETS - Energy Technology Savings, spoke at the Washington D.C. conference and discussed the importance of consumer access to consumption and demand data to enable consumer decisions to reduce energy costs and achieve clean energy goals.

"Snugg Home's Snugg Pro Adds Support for Green Button," discusses benefits of standardized Green Button energy data and how it speeds the home energy auditing process, with a two-minute demo.

GBA Members spoke at the SECC’s 2018 Consumer Symposium (The Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative is a GBA Affiliate Member organization).  Members of the Green Button Alliance, including the Ontario Ministry of Energy and Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), participated on the “Enabling Consumers with Access, Choice and Control of their Energy Data” panel, moderated by Jeremy J. Roberts, General Manager, GBA at the Consumer Symposium: “Transforming the Customer Relationship.”

The Symposium was co-located with DistribuTECH and took-place at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio, Texas. 

GBA's 2018 Annual Members Meeting & Breakfast

The GBA's Annual Members Meeting & Breakfast will be held on 24 January at the historic Menger Hotel in San Antonio, Texas to coincide with DistribuTECH 2018. The Members Meeting & Breakfast will be sponsored by board member / Participating Member company Think Energy. Learn how far the Green Button Alliance has come in three years and what's next for standards-based Green Button energy usage data, implementations and applications internationally. Members & interested non-members welcome, RSVP here.

GBA at DistribuTECH 2018

The Green Button Alliance is sponsoring a member-oriented booth at DistribuTECH 2018, 23-25 January in San Antonio, Texas. The GBA booth (#3247) is a 10x20 space located in the main exhibition hall of the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center. If your company is interested in sponsorship opportunities and participating in the booth, please contact Jeremy J. Roberts, General Manager, Green Button Alliance at [email protected] for more details.

GBA member Silver Spring Networks announced it will combine with Itron to accelerate smart grid and smart city innovation and growth. See the announcement here.

GBA member the Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative announced at its recent Annual Members Meeting and Fall Workshop that it has changed its name to the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative (SECC) to reflect its expanded mission. Read more here. 

GBA member Energy Toolbase launched a powerful software update that enables developers to model, optimize, and propose the economics of any type of behind-the-meter energy storage project providing benefits to both residential and commercial project developers. Learn more here. GBA members Energy Toolbase and UtilityAPI will also present at the 4th Annual DR & DER World Forum on 11-12 October in Costa Mesa, California.

This week, the CS Week 2017 conference is being held May 22-26 at the Fort Worth Convention Center in Texas.  The Green Button Alliance is pleased to note that several member companies were recognized with the prestigious “2017 CS Week Expanding Excellence” awards at the event.  The awards were presented to the winners and finalists on Wednesday, May 24th, during the opening general session of CS Week.

Exelon Corporation was named as a winner of the “Innovation in Digital Customer Engagement” award.

Baltimore Gas & Electric, an Exelon company, received a “Best Analytics Project” award with Pacific Gas & Electric receiving the runner-up in that category and level.

London Hydro (Ontario) won a “Best Mobility Implementation” award for their Interval Data Centre (IDC) innovation, which utilizes cloud-based infrastructure to provide Green Button energy-usage data via a powerful, mobile management application.  For more information about the Green Button solution, view the London Hydro video.

The Green Button Alliance congratulates its member companies for their outstanding achievements and industry recognition in receiving these awards!

Southern California Edison (SCE) has delivered electricity to Southern and Central California for more than 125 years and is one of the nation's largest utilities. SCE was one of the first utilities in the U.S. to make Green Button data available with the launch of its Green Button program in 2013. SCE's Green Button Download My Data offering enables its customers to securely download their own interval usage data directly to their computer from SCE's website. In 2015, SCE launched its Green Button Connect My Data program which gives customers the ability to automate the secure transfer of their own energy usage data to authorized third-parties, based on opt-in customer consent and control. In 2016, SCE enhanced its Connect My Data offering to include Billing, Meter, and Program Participation related data. To date, SCE has partnered with 13 third parties with approximately 11 additional vendors in process of testing. SCE's registered third-party vendors include demand-response providers, energy-management companies, solar companies, and others. SCE is proud to be a founding member of the Green Button Alliance and continues to promote its Green Button program among its customers and their designated business agents.

Top-performing electricity utilities from across Ontario, Canada, were honored at the industry's premier Awards Gala, hosted by the Electricity Distributors Association (EDA), on 27 March 2017. London Hydro, along with Festival Hydro and Whitby Hydro, received the Customer Service Excellence award for collaborating to enhance the utilities' online customer-engagement solutions including the launch of their Green Button platforms. The utilities successfully reduced their costs while providing customers with more service options online. London Hydro was also recognized with the Conservation Leadership Award at the event.

The Green Button Alliance was a supporter of the 2nd Annual Grid Modernization Forum held on 3-5 April 2017 in Chicago. Alliance members Mimi Zhang of Silver Spring Networks and Kevin Bricknell of Exelon Corporation's Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) subsidiary, participated in the event. Mimi Zhang joined speakers from DataCapable, Alliant Energy, and Open Energy Solutions on the Session 3 panel: "IOT and Big Data Analytics for New Business Models and Operational Excellence." The value of interoperability, collaboration, and the future of the smart grid was also discussed. Kevin Bricknell presented during Session 10: "Better Programs, Better Performance, with Customer and Grid Data Analytics" educating the audience about new and innovative smart grid programs and pilots that are helping to create a utility of the future. He highlighted new customer programs including Green Button Connect My Data, which ComEd is implementing to help its customers make informed decisions about managing their electricity consumption.

The Green Button Alliance was a promotional partner of the Energy Thought Summit (ETS17) held on 27-30 March 2017 in Austin, Texas. The event gathered many of the industry's top creative minds to design solutions to shape the energy transformation. GBA members Exelon, Energyworx, and the Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative (SGCC) spoke at the event. A highlight of the event was ComEd CEO, Anne Pramaggiore's selection as the "2017 ETS Thought Leader of the Year" -- an award that honors an individual with an inventive, brave vision to inspire the global energy ecosystem. The GBA congratulates Anne Pramaggiore of ComEd on her award!  

Energyworx Founder and Chief Visionary Officer, Edwin Poot, spoke on the "Designing for Data" panel along with participants from Direct Energy and EDF Energy Services. Poot expertly addressed how the industry can get the most out of legacy systems and respond to data diversity challenges. Establishing a foundation of data quality is the key to success in advanced analytics and machine learning. SGCC's President and CEO, Patty Durand, moderated two panels at the event including "Customers-in-Charge -- Redefining the Utility-Customer Relationship" and "Ready for Action - How Utilities Can Drive Value for their Customer."

The 2017 Green Button Alliance Members Meeting was attended by leading utilities, large industry players, government agencies, app vendors, and affiliate organizations who gathered today at Sempra Energy® headquarters in San Diego — the parent company of GBA Sponsor and Founding member, San Diego Gas & Electric® — to discuss numerous Green Button achievements and to envision the path forward for the industry's energy data-access standard.

The GBA reviewed its successful expansion of the Green Button ecosystem in the short 24 months since it was founded.  The expert audience discussed current member developments, the growth of the GBA ecosystem, and ways to influence rapid adoption and implementation.

The Green Button Alliance hosted a webinar, "Green Button 101", on 13 October 2016 to educate the industry and consumers on the many powerful capabilities of the Green Button data-access standard, as well as communicate real-world benefits from a leading U.S. utility and application-provider perspective.  GBA general manager Jeremy J. Roberts, Paul Monette of founding member Southern California Edison (SCE) and Elena Lucas of member UtilityAPI presented. The webinar featured a lively Q&A session enabling the presenters to answer questions from  attendees. In case you missed it, access the Q&A here.

The Green Button Alliance hosted a panel session, "Bridging the Utility Data Access Gap to Enable Operational Efficiencies, New Data-driven Energy Efficiency Programs and Residential and Commercial Customer Engagement," at the 3rd Annual Demand Response & DER World Forum on 10-11 October 2016 in Chicago. GBA board member Sasha Sud of the Advanced Energy Centre, GBA board member Amy Kight Costadone of PG&E, GBA member Martha Amram of WattzOn, and Steve Nguyen of BuildingIQ participated on the panel. The panel expertly addressed innovative technologies and services enabled by AMI and real-time energy usage data and Green Button trending data, the ability to securely share that information with authorized third-parties, as well as how energy usage data, analytics and auto DR, and the energy Internet of Things (IoT) can be leveraged to engage with residential and commercial customers.

The first White House Open Data Innovation Summit with Solutions Showcase was held in conjunction with the Data Foundation's 4th annual open data policy conference, Data Transparency 2016 on 28 September 2016 in Washington D.C. The event showcased innovations and achievements in U.S. open data. One of the many highlights included a U.S. CTO panel consisting of current U.S. CTO Megan Smith and former U.S. CTOs Aneesh Chopra and Todd Park. Chopra noted the U.S. "My Data" movement and the Green Button initiative within his talk. Smith referenced Green Button in her closing remarks later in the event. The Green Button Alliance was selected to both speak and exhibit at the event. GBA chairman, Syed Mir, CIO of London Hydro, addressed the Green Button Alliance's vision, goals, and Green Button progress and innovation, implementations and customer successes. 

GBA general manager, Jeremy J. Roberts, highlighted member Green Button achievements in the U.S. and globally and educated attendees on Green Button functionality and broad benefits. The Solutions Showcase at the Summit was well-attended and great opportunity to interface with government, cross-sector industry and technology representatives working to advance Open Data. Green Button Alliance board members David A. Wollman of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Christopher J. Irwin of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) were in attendance along with GBA staff at the Showcase. Syed Mir had the opportunity to discuss Green Button with U.S. CTO Megan Smith at the Summit. The GBA is continuing to educate stakeholders on the benefits enabled by consumer access to Green Button energy and water usage data, including the assurance of customer privacy and data security.

On 21 July, Energyworx, providers of SaaS-based energy data management and energy intelligence solutions that help utility and energy companies navigate and monetize the energy transition, announced a €1 million Series A funding round led by venture capital firm henQ. Energyworx will use the new funding to scale its U.S. and European operations, including the opening of a new office in San Francisco. Energyworx has appointed Marcel E. Smit as CEO. Founder, Edwin Poot, has been named Chief Visionary Officer and will focus on the company’s long-term product strategy. In June, Energyworx was coined a “Rock Star” of GridEdge World Forum 2016 held in San Jose, California; read the company’s re-cap here and see Edwin Poot’s interview live from the event [YouTube] as he explains Energyworx’ role in the energy transition and how the company helps customers monetize their data.

In August, Chai Energy and Energy Upgrade California® teamed up to provide California residents with the tools and information they need to save energy and money on their utility bills. The two companies are inviting California utility customers to sign up for Chai Energy's popular Green Button mobile app. Through the offer, the first 1,000 qualified registrants will receive a Chai Energy Pro for free. Chai Energy Pro is a smart energy gateway that connects to the home's network and collects the customer’s energy usage data in real-time (every 7 seconds) from their smart meter. Customers can then use the Chai mobile app to tag individual appliances in their homes to see energy usage of specific appliances, receive customized notifications, and be informed of any utility rebates for replacing existing inefficient appliances—all on their mobile phone. See how the Chai Pro and Chai Energy mobile app work together on this new video [Vimeo].