Comverge Announces Development of Second "Virtual Peaking Capacity™" Program
FLORHAM PARK, NJ and ATLANTA, GA, October 28, 2003-Comverge, Inc. announced today that it has signed a long-term Virtual Peaking Capacity™ contract to provide significant peak load reduction to San Diego Gas & Electric Company, a division of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE). The contract is subject to the approval of the Public Utilities Commission of California. Comverge, a leading energy intelligence company, recently announced a major equity funding by a broad investor group including: Nth Power, EnerTech Capital, Data Systems & Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: DSSI), E.ON Venture Partners GmbH (NYSE: EON), Ridgewood Capital, Easton Hunt Capital Partners, L.P., Norsk Hydro Technology Ventures and Shell Internet Ventures, an affiliate of the Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Companies (NYSE: RD).
Under the Virtual Peaking Capacity™ program, Comverge will install, own and operate a load management system marketed to SDG&E's small and medium-sized commercial customers and designed to provide significant peak period demand relief to SDG&E. The available demand reduction is targeted at 30 MW by 2007. The program is a key component of SDG&E's longterm resource plan first announced in April 2003.
Joseph Esteves, Executive Vice President of Comverge in charge of its Virtual Peaking Capacity™ business, said, "We are very pleased to be participating in SDG&E's ongoing program to provide reliable, cost-effective power to its customers in Southern California. We are very bullish on our VPC business and note that this SDGE award was granted along side awards for traditional generation resources. We are accomplishing our goal of packaging demand response in such a way that clearly demonstrates its cost-effectiveness. And, we are gratified by the confidence SDG&E has shown in Comverge and our unique Virtual Peaking Capacity™ solution. This occasion marks our second VPC program announcement this year."
Robert M. Chiste, Comverge's Chief Executive Officer added, "We take note that newly elected Governor Schwarzenegger has made demand response programs a cornerstone of his California energy policy stating that he 'encourage(s) cost-effective conservation by increasing demand response to changing electricity markets.' We believe that demand response offers a superior, environmentally clean means of achieving that goal. In addition, our Virtual Peaking Capacity™ program allows energy providers to focus on what they do best, which is to provide reliable energy, while Comverge's expertise is focused on peak demand management. We will continue to pursue similar innovative demand management programs in California and other states employing progressive energy policies."
About Comverge, Inc.
Comverge, Inc., The Power in Power TechnologyTM has more than 500 energy supplier clients worldwide. Comverge has offices, research facilities, representatives and agents located in Atlanta, Georgia; Florham Park, New Jersey; Newark, California; Pensacola, Florida; and Tel Aviv, Israel. The Company's PowerCAMPTM Group and new 6DiNET Group provide End-to-End Energy IntelligenceTM software solutions. Comverge's Technologies Group provides integrated, full-spectrum solutions for direct or voluntary load control programs, remote meter reading, price-responsive programs, time-of-use billing, distributed generation monitoring, theft/outage detection and more. Comverge's Enterprise Group provides pioneering turnkey business solutions including owned and operated systems, Virtual Peaking CapacityTM "negawatt" contracts, and joint ventures. For more information visit: www.comverge.com.