NORCROSS, Ga., Oct. 25, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Comverge, Inc. (Nasdaq:COMV), the leading provider of Intelligent Energy Management solutions for Residential and Commercial + Industrial (C+I) customers, today announced that it has been selected by Tampa Electric Company to support enhancements to its Energy PlannerSM program. Tampa Electric will utilize Comverge's IntelliSOURCE platform to upgrade its successful price responsive program. The program allows residential customers to automate control of their energy usage using pricing tiers and dynamic price signals to reduce consumption during times of peak demand when electricity rates are at their highest. Tampa Electric is the eighteenth utility to adopt Comverge's IntelliSOURCE platform.
Based in Tampa, FL, Tampa Electric provides service to approximately 672,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers over 2,000 square miles of Florida. To support the successful execution of its automated two-way residential price responsive program, Tampa Electric will leverage the enterprise-class capabilities of Comverge's IntelliSOURCE platform to automate high energy use appliance operations and collect metering information to calculate electricity bills for customers participating in the program.
"At Tampa Electric, we are dedicated to helping our residential customers take a more active role in managing their energy consumption," said Drema Hughes, program manager, Tampa Electric. "We began our Energy Planner program in 2008 and it has since grown to be one of the more mature home energy management programs in the country."
Tampa Electric's Energy Planner program uses smart thermostats to help residential customers control the operation of central heating and cooling systems, electric water heaters and pool pumps based on price tiers and dynamic price signals. This automated price responsive program allows Tampa Electric to offer four pricing rates for electricity (low, medium, high and critical) that provide lower rates approximately 87 percent of the time. The dynamic critical peak rate can be executed by Tampa Electric within minutes and since 2008 has reliably shed 3.1 kW during winter peak and 2.0 kW during summer peak per customer. Almost 2,000 customers are already saving money on their energy bills by programming their thermostats and high energy use appliances to automatically respond to the price tiers and dynamic price signals sent out by Tampa Electric.
"Tampa Electric is at the forefront of a revolution in the utility industry that will see these types of dynamic pricing programs become commonplace," said Comverge president and chief executive officer, R. Blake Young. "To implement an energy management program of this magnitude is a testament to their team and we are proud to help Tampa Electric deliver one of the only automated dynamic pricing programs in the country. With 18 utility customers across the country now having adopted the IntelliSOURCE platform, it is gaining momentum as the platform of choice for delivering sophisticated Intelligent Energy Management programs."
About Comverge
With more than 500 utility and 2,100 commercial customers, as well as five million residential deployments, Comverge brings unparalleled industry knowledge and experience to offer the most reliable, easy-to-use, and cost-effective intelligent energy management programs. We deliver the insight and control that enables energy providers and consumers to optimize their power usage through the industry's only proven, comprehensive set of technology, services and information management solutions. For more information, visit www.comverge.com.
Forward Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The forward-looking statements in this release are not, and should not be construed as historical facts, do not constitute guarantees of future performance and are based on numerous assumptions that, while believed to be reasonable, may not prove to be accurate. These forward looking statements include successful implementation of the program, anticipated results, expectations of future performance under the program and certain assumptions upon which such forward-looking statements are based. The forward-looking statements in this release involve a number of factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, including risks associated with Comverge's business involving our products, the development and distribution of our products and related services, regulatory changes, economic and competitive factors, our key strategic relationships, and other risks more fully described in our most recently filed Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and Annual Report on Form 10-K. Comverge assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking information contained in this press release or with respect to the information or announcements described herein.