NORCROSS, Ga., Aug. 2, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Comverge, Inc., the leading provider of Intelligent Energy Management solutions for Residential and Commercial & Industrial (C&I) customers, today announced that during June and July, the first two months of the summer cooling season, it delivered to the grid more than 22 gigawatt hours of reduced electricity demand from C&I and residential customers. This is approximately 40 percent growth over the 16 gigawatt hours of energy reduction Comverge delivered during the entire 2011 cooling season, which runs from June through September. The growth in energy reduction demonstrates the critical role demand response is playing in the nation's energy mix and the importance of proven and comprehensive technologies to deliver such significant load reduction.
The reduction efforts were made necessary by several heat waves that threatened grid reliability in different regions of the country. In June and July 2012, Comverge executed 168 events, coordinating conservation measures at more than 600,000 homes and 1,083 commercial and industrial sites. This compares to 199 events during all of 2011.
"Comverge's record performance so far in 2012 is a clear demonstration of the critical role intelligent energy management plays in helping utilities and grid operators cost-effectively and reliably manage peak demand," said R. Blake Young, president and chief executive officer, Comverge. "During this summer's heat waves, Comverge has helped maintain grid reliability by mitigating the risks presented by periods of extreme demand. Our record level of curtailments during June and July represent strong growth for both demand response as a resource and for our residential and commercial and industrial business."
"The continued growth of demand response results in many societal benefits including a new source of funds for businesses and consumers, a reduction in pollutants caused by fossil fuel-burning power plants as well as more progress towards achieving a smarter grid," said Young.
The "always on" nature of the Comverge Network Operations Center helped the company quickly, reliably and cost-effectively manage thousands of data transactions without any interruptions in service. Central to managing these events was Comverge's IntelliSOURCE™ software platform, which is now used by more than 26 utilities to manage and execute complex, high-volume control events.
About Comverge
With more than 500 utility and 2,100 commercial customers, as well as five million deployed residential devices, 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 and follow us on Twitter at @Comverge.