Comverge Announces New Customer Relationship, Technology Enhancements and Strategic Partnerships
Key Milestones Including New Agreement with PECO, Underscore Ability to Deliver Proven, Comprehensive and Smart Grid Ready Energy Management Programs
Tampa, FL, DistribuTECH, March 25, 2010 - Comverge, Inc. (Nasdaq: COMV), a leading provider of smart grid, demand management and energy efficiency solutions, today announced significant milestones that extend its ability to meet the complex needs of utility and large commercial and industrial (C&I) customers. Among the developments, Comverge announced a new 3-year agreement with PECO, detailed enhancements to its Apollo Demand Response Management System (DRMS), including centralized control for its C&I and residential utility customers and unveiled strategic partnerships with advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) vendors, Sensus and Itron.
"There is not a single energy management company that can match the tremendous success we have had delivering energy management and demand response programs to mass markets," said R. Blake Young, Comverge president and CEO. "We have a deep understanding of the complex needs of our utility and C&I customers and have successfully leveraged that knowledge to develop the industry's most proven, integrated and comprehensive technology solutions. Now, as we approach the next significant evolution in our industry - the deployment of the smart grid - we have furthered our position as our customers' trusted advisor as they navigate this promising but challenging landscape."
Proven Delivery in Complex Environments
Under the new agreement with PECO, an electric and natural gas utility subsidiary of Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC), Comverge will provide a comprehensive and smart grid ready program to support PECO's Smart IdeasSM initiative. The new program, built on Comverge's industry leading Apollo Demand Response Management System (DRMS) software, positions PECO as one of the state's first utilities to address the energy demand and consumption targets mandated by Pennsylvania Act 129.
The PECO partnership builds on recent milestones that further prove Comverge's ability to meet the complex needs of its utility and large C&I customers. Among the highlights, Comverge now:
Has deployed 5 million devices in the field;
Manages complex demand response initiatives for over 2,100 C&I customers (comprised of open market and utility programs) including Limited Brands and The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania;
Communicates with approximately 10,000 metering points;
Manages 3,300 megawatts of power; and
Has provided hardware and software for approximately 60% of demand response gigawatts delivered to the residential market.
Comprehensive Energy Management Programs
Comverge today also announced significant enhancements to its Apollo DRMS, an enterprise-class software platform that provides customers with a unified solution for the integration challenges caused by the evolving electricity transmission infrastructure. Having already received significant market traction with several utilities, including Dominion Virginia Power and Rocky Mountain Power, Comverge has improved Apollo's ability to bridge existing demand response programs to the smart grid with the following enhancements:
Streamlined User Interface: C&I and residential energy management programs can now be managed via a unified user interface
Enhanced Reporting: New, advanced features provides a singular view into the number of devices that can be targeted and the number online at the time of an event
Simplified C&I Service Point Management: New flexibility for operations to manage large numbers of devices by location
Advanced Load Drop Capabilities: Sophisticated load drop capabilities on days specified prior to a control execution
Smart Grid Ready
Comverge today also extended its strategic partnership program by entering into new agreements with leading AMI providers, Sensus and Itron. With these relationships, Comverge is helping drive the migration to the smart grid by ensuring its products are compatible with a wide range of emerging solutions.
Under a new strategic alliance with Sensus USA, a leading supplier of smart grid infrastructure and smart metering to utilities, the two companies will support current and future utility energy efficiency and conservation programs by providing comprehensive and integrated energy management solutions. Specifically, the alliance will include the integration of standards-based ZigBee home automation devices, as well as future Comverge, Sensus and third-party home area network devices based on the emerging U-SNAP connector standard.
Comverge and Itron have entered into a reseller agreement that will extend the reach of Comverge's suite of proven energy management hardware and support Itron customers' current and future energy efficiency programs and conservation efforts.
Under these non-exclusive alliances, utilities will benefit from Comverge's rich heritage of delivering innovative energy management solutions that have supported over 500 utility programs and the industry's leading AMI providers' deep experience gained from a collective 150 years in the North America utility market.
Supporting Quotes
"The PECO Smart Ideas suite of programs is part of PECO's ongoing efforts to help customers save energy and money. To meet that commitment to customers, we needed a partner that could cost effectively deliver a comprehensive and proven platform to support both our current and future energy efficiency initiatives. After careful evaluation, Comverge was a clear choice given the scale and scope of our programs. Their experience and presence in the region, combined with the breadth of their turnkey services, will help us empower our customers with the information they need to reduce energy consumption and ultimately save money." - Frank Jiruska, director of Energy and Marketing Services, PECO
"By partnering with industry-leading companies like Comverge on our Positive Energy Smart Grid program, we are building an integrated solution that will benefit our customers, employees and shareholders. Comverge has been instrumental in helping us create a cleaner and more reliable electricity transmission grid that supports smart meter installation, distribution automation, AMI and customer demand response." - Mike Farrell, Director Customer Programs, OGE Energy Corp.
"Managing energy consumption across our large and growing portfolio of specialty mall based and outlet stores was a daunting proposition until we partnered with Comverge. We have worked closely together for over a decade on demand response programs and in that time we have literally saved millions of dollars in energy costs through projects such as lighting retrofits and the proactive replacement of older HVAC systems. The partnership with Comverge is not just about cost savings though and instead their expertise in all things energy has become critical to our broader environmental strategy." - Sandra Ware, Manager, Energy & Environmental Services, Limited Brands
"A combination of factors including state regulation and a desire to reduce campus costs led us to reexamine our energy usage. To do this, we partnered with Comverge and the energy reductions we have been able to achieve are incredible. Looking at the last two years alone, we have been able to reduce our electricity load by more than 20 million kilowatt hours. To put that into perspective, that's the equivalent of two months of the school's electrical consumption, or put another way, enough electricity to power 10,000 homes for the same period." - Michael Krone, PE, CEM, Utility Operations Manager, University of Maryland, Baltimore
"Energy conservation is a priority for us and Comverge has been a trusted partner in that effort for years. As we move towards the smart grid, we will continue on the path we've been on with Comverge, giving our customers the technology and the know-how to keep their energy costs down while doing something invaluable for our environment. The strength and breadth of our partnership is definitely a testament to the great work we've been able to do with Comverge." - Steve Saenz, Program Delivery Manager, Austin Energy
"It was clear that we needed to evaluate our energy usage to help manage our increasing energy costs, as well as measure our impact on the environment. Partnering with Comverge, we conducted comprehensive energy audits and back-up generation asset studies that allowed us to determine the most efficient ways to reduce costs, optimize operations, maintain resident comfort, and be good stewards of our resources. The results so far delivered have been nothing short of outstanding as we are implementing resident-focused initiatives to reduce energy, performing energy-efficiency retrofits of crucial building infrastructure, and are including energy-conservation technologies in the design of our new resident homes. Participation in Comverge's demand response programs has allowed us to receive significant revenues to help fund our energy initiatives, while maintaining our standing as a good neighbor and trusted environmental steward in assisting the regional electrical power grid maintain system integrity and reliability." - Tom Kopach, Director of Facilities Services, Kendal-Crosslands
"Utilities need established and proven partners to address the increasingly complex energy management and conservation challenges they face today. Comverge has a reputation that is highly valued by the market and as a result, many existing and potential utility clients have a proven relationship with Comverge they wish to maintain and expand in conjunction with their deployment of our technology. With this agreement, we are able to offer our customers the interoperability required to efficiently execute innovative smart grid programs." - Jim Hilty, Vice President of Business Development, Sensus USA
About Comverge
With over 3,300 megawatts of clean energy capacity under management, Comverge is a leading provider of comprehensive smart grid, demand management, and energy efficiency solutions that improve grid reliability and supply electric capacity by reducing base load and peak load energy consumption. For more information, visit www.comverge.com. Apollo is a registered trademark of Comverge, Inc.
For Comverge Investors
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 do not constitute 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 the ability to provide specific solutions, to achieve additional energy efficiencies and additional value for our customers, the anticipated success of the integration of certain technologies and assumptions upon which the forward-looking statements are based. The forward-looking statements in this release do not constitute guarantees of future performance and 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 announcements described herein.
For Additional Information:
Media Relations
Kristin Mastrandrea
Communications Manager
Comverge, Inc.
908-947-6169
