September 2
Ameren Missouri Finishes Over 300 Reliability Projects
Top consumer smart energy news hand-selected and brought to you by the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative.
Member News
This year, Ameren Missouri hit the ground running with reliability efforts, completing more than 300 Smart Energy Plan projects in the first half of 2022 and deploying replacements and upgrades throughout its service area. Meant to reduce the frequency and duration of power outages, these improvements included smart switches, new pad-mounted transformers and other grid upgrades.
Missouri River Energy Services (MRES) plans to introduce wholesale TOU energy rates for its member public power utilities in 2023. The new rates would be higher when everyone is using power at the same time during periods of peak demand, typically from 12 to 8 p.m. during the summer, and cheapest overnight when few people are using power. Rates in the mornings are going to be mid-priced.
Con Edison, in a partnership with New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) and electric vehicle service equipment (EVSE) network operator FLO, installed the 100th Level 2 public EV charging port in New York City, the companies announced on August 23. The curbside charging pilot program, initiated about a year ago, was designed to increase adoption of EVs.
CLEAResult and Virtual Peaker announced a new partnership to supercharge customer engagement for demand-side management programs. The companies are offering an end-to-end, distributed energy resource (DER) management solution that meets the rapid increase in demand and changing operational needs utilities are preparing for, especially in light of the Inflation Reduction Act.
Get Your Weekly Edition
Industry News
Rising energy prices and the potential for extended heat waves will push more homeowners to install smart thermostats this year, but overall sluggish adoption leaves “a substantive energy conservation opportunity untapped at the macro level,” according to Kagan, the media research unit of S&P Global Market Intelligence. Analysts say 19.6 million smart thermostats were installed in the U.S. at the end of last year.
A partnership between Entergy New Orleans and the City of New Orleans yielded a new Electric Vehicle Charger Program and the first subsequent, free charger station for public use in the area. The first deployment went live at Pontchartrain Park in the city, but in the end, it will be one of 30 situated at 25 locations. All will be freely usable and focused on community areas.
Last month’s launch of Rheem’s ProTerra 120-volt heat pump water heater might not seem like a big step forward in the fight against climate change. In terms of home electrification accessories, it’s not as sexy as a rooftop solar array, Tesla Powerwall battery or Ford F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck. But to home electrification policy wonks, an efficient electric water heater that can plug into a standard wall socket is a major advance in getting U.S. households off fossil fuels.
Sunnova Energy International filed paperwork with state regulators to develop a solar and storage focused micro-utility in California. The proposal could pose a relatively small, but novel, challenge to the state’s incumbent investor-owned utilities. The Houston-based company formed a wholly owned subsidiary called Sunnova Community Microgrids California, LLC.
