Using Hybrid AMR Strategically
March 1, 2005
Instead of choosing one automated meter reading (AMR) technology to serve their entire customer base, electric utilities often employ a combination of AMR technologies, because some AMR systems simply cannot be cost-effectively deployed beyond certain customer segments. By strategically selecting an ...
Content type: Focus Report, Research | Document ID: EIC-F-7 | Author: Leland Keller
The Future of Building Automation: Facility Managers Speak
March 1, 2005
Commercial facility managers and energy managers have a standard controls protocol and a trained staff among their highest priorities. Many are ready to accept increased automation but are hesitant to adopt wireless connectivity until communication of building control data is secure.
Content type: Focus Report, Research | Document ID: EIC-F-8 | Author: Kathleen Burns
Mapping the Trails of Energy Data: Helping Customers Use Energy Information to Improve Efficiency and Profit
August 1, 2004
Energy service providers offering energy information and related services develop more effective relationships, sales processes, and program participation through understanding how consumer organizations currently use energy data and executing on the best service opportunities. In this report we discuss ...
Content type: Focus Report, Research | Document ID: EIC-F-6 | Author: Leland Keller
State of the Energy Information Services Market 2004
March 1, 2004
The market for energy information services (EIS) and products has begun a slow recovery, judging by our research with vendors in this field. EIS market demand is now driven by budget management and cost allocation concerns among large business customers; more of them are now committing to smaller EIS ...
Content type: Focus Report, Research | Document ID: EIC-F-5 | Author: Leland Keller
Fixed-Network AMR: Lessons for Building the Best Business Case
December 1, 2003
Is it time to automate meter-data retrieval? The ancillary benefits of enabling frequent and unscheduled reads are attractive for reducing special field visits, improving customer satisfaction, and supporting demand response programs. Nevertheless, the costs of automated meter reading (AMR) can be difficult ...
Content type: Focus Report, Research | Document ID: EIC-F-4 | Author: Michael Wiebe, Gary Fauth
Demand Response 101: The Basics of Utility Load Management Programs
December 1, 2003
Sometimes your utility actually wants you to buy less of what it sells. What's in it for you? Lower energy bills!
Content type: ESCD Pamphlet, Research | Document ID: EIC-P-4 | Author: None
Monitoring and Targeting: Tapping the Well of Operational Efficiency
November 1, 2003
Monitoring and targeting (M&T) is a structured approach to analyzing business and manufacturing processes with an eye for improving energy efficiency. The M&T approach correlates historical energy consumption to measurable factors of business operation and other variables to develop benchmarks and goals ...
Content type: Service Report | Document ID: EIC-21 | Author: Leland Keller, Florence Lu
Critical Peak Pricing: Combining Communications, Control, and Pricing for Residential Demand Response
August 1, 2003
Electric utilities and energy service vendors have combined load-control technology and communications with innovative pricing techniques, creating a new breed of price- and demand-responsive load management known as critical peak pricing (CPP). CPP programs take tariffs that are designed to reflect ...
Content type: Focus Report, Research | Document ID: EIC-F-3 | Author: Leland Keller
State of the Energy Information Services Market 2003
April 1, 2003
It has been a tough couple of years for the energy information services (EIS) market. More than two dozen EIS providers have exited the market or merged with other companies in the past two and a half years. Many EIS providers have never made a profit, and many more have struggled to develop a business ...
Content type: Focus Report, Research | Document ID: EIC-F-2 | Author: Leland Keller
Choosing the Right Communications and Control Platform for Distributed Generation
January 1, 2003
Distributed generation and other demand-response resources can now be automatically dispatched directly from the supply-side control room at utilities and independent system operators.
Content type: Focus Report, Research | Document ID: EIC-F-1 | Author: Leland Keller
Public Wireless Options for Revenue Metering (Revised 11/06/02)
September 1, 2002
A meter with wireless communications is usually easy and relatively inexpensive to install. But actually making the meter communication work can be tricky because building components and other obstructions can interfere with communications.
Content type: Research, Service Report | Document ID: EIC-20 | Author: Dick Montague
Information and Communication Elements of Peak Load Management Programs
July 1, 2002
What did you learn from your peak load management programs last year? We asked the managers of award-winning programs at utilities and other energy service providers that question, and to choose what they think are the most important aspects of peak load management. We used their answers to show the ...
Content type: Research | Document ID: EIC-19 | Author: Leland Keller
Metering Executives' Insights on the Future of Metering Technologies and Meter Data Management Services
March 1, 2002
What’s in the future for metering and communications? Will advanced metering become widespread? Will utilities retrofit existing meters or install new ones? E source talked with eight executives from utilites and metering manufacturers to get their views. There were some areas of consensus, such as ...
Content type: Research, Service Report | Document ID: EIC-18 | Author: Lynn Fryer
Meter Data Analysis Services: Making the Most of Interval Data
December 1, 2001
Load profiles contain a wealth of information on how buildings are performing, yet selling such services is still tough. E source believes these services will gain a strong following in the coming years, as more-sophisticated tools help diagnose problems, rank them according to potential savings, and ...
Content type: Research, Service Report | Document ID: EIC-14 | Author: Lynn Fryer, Leland Keller
Metering by Power Line Communication
December 1, 2001
Using power lines for utility metering is attractive because they’re already in place, they’re connected to every meter, and they’re owned and controlled by the utility. However, they’re also plagued with electrical noise and often present an unfriendly environment for data communications.
Content type: Research, Service Report | Document ID: EIC-17 | Author: Dick Montague
The Case for Advanced Metering
August 1, 2001
Advanced metering is needed to enable customer demand response, which in turn is necessary to keep wholesale prices from spiking wildly. California’s recent energy crisis offers two lessons for states that are considering advanced metering: advanced meters are well worth the cost, and the time to act ...
Content type: Research, Service Report | Document ID: EIC-16 | Author: Paul Gromer
Internet Metering of Commercial and Industrial Users: Ready or Not?
July 1, 2001
We look at the promises, problems, and prospects of Internet metering from the point of view of energy service providers and commercial and industrial energy users.
Content type: Research, Service Report | Document ID: EIC-15 | Author: Dick Montague
Utility Accounting Services: Making the Most of Monthly Billing Data (EIC-12)
December 1, 2000
Utility accounting services (UAS), including bill payment, bill verification, and benchmarking, are very useful for energy managers trying to juggle complicated utility bills for multiple facilities. The UAS business has expanded from a few thousand end users in 1997 to hundreds of thousands at the end ...
Content type: Research, Service Report | Document ID: EIC-12 | Author: Lynn Fryer
Voluntary Load Curtailment Systems for Win-Win Load Control (EIC-13)
December 1, 2000
More and more large electrical energy users are selling power they don’t need at the moment back to their utilities during a power shortage, often for a price 20 or 30 times what they pay for it. It’s called voluntary load curtailment, and everyone seems to be winning with it. This report examines ...
Content type: Research, Service Report | Document ID: EIC-13 | Author: Dick Montague
Energy Information Services: Tales of Early Adopters
July 1, 2000
With energy costs increasingly regarded as controllable, large energy users are turning to a variety of energy information services (EIS) for analyses of their energy usage and costs. But they differ considerably in their use of those services, and even in their objectives. This report presents the stories ...
Content type: Research, Service Report | Document ID: EIC-11 | Author: Dick Montague
On Your Mark, Get Set, Slow: The Developing Market for Competitive Metering
May 1, 2000
Whether to make metering competitive in the U.S. remains a controversial issue. This report evaluates market evolution in California, the only U.S. state that has initiated competitive metering so far, and looks at how the metering market evolved in the U.K. under very different conditions. The approaches ...
Content type: Research, Service Report | Document ID: EIC-10 | Author: Paul Gromer, Mark de Figueiredo
Continuous Commissioning: Following the Data Trail to Low-Cost Energy Savings
December 1, 1999
The capability to assess building systems remotely has led to the practice of continuous commissioning”—ongoing monitoring of light, heat, air conditioning, and so on. Paying careful attention to building component data is a cost-effective way to keep track of how a building is operating, diagnose ...
Content type: Research, Service Report | Document ID: EIC-9 | Author: Ira Krepchin
When You've Gotta Have It: Options for Collecting Interval Data
November 1, 1999
To obtain interval data, utilities and end users can chooser either to upgrade an existing meter or replace it. We examine the technologies and their costs, profile major manufacturers, and offer case studies of interval metering technology in use.
Content type: Research, Service Report | Document ID: EIC-8 | Author: Charlotte Otero-Goodwin
From RTP to Dynamic Buying: Communication, Analysis, and Control Tools for Managing Risk
October 1, 1999
For “energy-aware” end users and demand-constrained providers, current and emerging technologies for supporting dynamic pricing may hold the key to market-driven savings. Early results show that market-driven load management programs can benefit both the seller and buyer, with the greatest benefits ...
Content type: Research, Service Report | Document ID: EIC-7 | Author: Brendan Kiernan
Having an Out-of-Building Experience: 24-Hour Remote Monitoring and Control Services
July 1, 1999
Energy costs for most buildings can be reduced by making full use of building energy management systems, altering schedules to fit business needs, and reducing the need for on-site service calls. But most corporations have neither the budget nor the skilled staff necessary for such scrutiny.
Content type: Research, Service Report | Document ID: EIC-6 | Author: Lynn Fryer and Brendan Kiernan
Competition Comes to Metering: Regulatory Debates and Decisions
May 1, 1999
Metering is a key issue in regulatory debates about competition in the electric industry. State PUCs are trying to decide several issues, among them whether advanced (hourly) metering should be required; whether metering should be competitive (and, if so, which entities should deliver it); and how fixed ...
Content type: Research, Service Report | Document ID: EIC-5 | Author: Paul Gromer
Electronic Home Energy Audits
December 1, 1998
The electronic home energy audit is an increasingly popular component of utilities' Internet and electronic communications strategy. The convenience and customization enabled by electronic media, along with the popularity of traditional audit services, make the electronic audit a natural fit. Although ...
Content type: Research | Document ID: EIC-4/RES-1
Buying Energy in the New Era: How Energy Purchasing Practices Are Being Transformed by Organizational and Technological Changes
July 1, 1998
Large companies are intensifying their efforts to squeeze costs out of their operations through aggressive and disciplined purchasing practices. As a result, corporate purchasing departments are gaining in stature and authority, and new techniques of "supply-chain management" are being widely applied. ...
Content type: Core Report | Document ID: ER-98-1 | Author: Bill Howe and James Newcomb
Automated Customer Communications: Services, Technologies, Players, and Implications
June 1, 1998
The penetration of basic AMR is increasing in the residential sector, but energy service providers would do well to focus on the commercial and industrial markets. Participation in direct access requires that these end users have interval or real-time meters and AMR for pricing and settlement.
Content type: Research, Service Report | Document ID: EIC-3 | Author: Andrew Colman
Corporate Energy Managers Express Their Views in Third Annual E Source Survey
May 1, 1998
Corporate energy managers from more than 50 large corporations and institutions gathered in San Antonio for the fifth annual E Source Energy Managers Roundtable. Most of the participants responded to a survey on energy management concerns, including electricity deregulation, power quality, and ... ...
Content type: Core Report, Research | Document ID: SM-98-3 | Author: Bill Howe PE
Electric Money: "E Commerce" Comes to the Utility Industry
December 1, 1997
Whether to make metering competitive in the U.S. remains a controversial issue. This report evaluates market evolution in California, the only U.S. state that has initiated competitive metering so far, and looks at how the metering market evolved in the U.K. under very different conditions. The approaches ...
Content type: Research, Service Report | Document ID: EIC-1 | Author: Barbara Mitchell
Got Data? Service Bureaus Manage Energy Information
December 1, 1997
As energy users gear up for negotiating with power suppliers, they are realizing that information about how their facilities use energy is invaluable. Such information, properly applied, can help achieve multiple benefits, including savings from bill validation, operational improvements, identifying ...
Content type: Research, Service Report | Document ID: EIC-2 | Author: Lynn Fryer
CELECT Intelligent and Invisible Load Control
September 1, 1996
Will energy-related home automation systems become a profitable service? This question remains unanswered. However, a system called CELECT (Control Electric) indicates that the technology is ready—providing that costs for in-home communications can be reduced.
Content type: Core Report, Research | Document ID: PP-96-3 | Author: Karen L. George
Access To Utility Customer Information: Implications for Energy Efficiency Services
September 1, 1996
As competition emerges in the United States electricity industry, controversy is brewing over access to data historically held by utilities about their customers, ranging from names and addresses to energy usage profiles. Power marketers, energy service companies, and other players want equal access ...
Content type: Core Report | Document ID: SM-96-8 | Author: Lynn Fryer
Online Energy Services for Commercial Energy Users
May 1, 1996
Regulatory and technological changes now make possible online energy services such as real-time access to consumption data, remote monitoring and control of buildings, and online energy pricing and trading. In E Source's view the commercial sector is the most promising target for these online ... ...
Content type: Core Report | Document ID: SM-96-4 | Author: Paul Komor
Tapping the Value of Energy Use Data: New Tools and Techniques
March 1, 1996
For energy service providers aspiring to create new products and services for their customers, one relatively low-cost opportunity is to provide better, clearer, more usable information on energy use, performance, and costs. Such information is highly valued by large energy users, and new techniques ...
Content type: Core Report, Research | Document ID: SM-96-3 | Author: Lynn Fryer
Seven Reasons to Submeter Electricity
March 1, 1996
When it comes to electrical submetering, information is not only power—it also is money. Electrical submetering can be a valuable tool for improving management of electrical energy, and for improving efficiency. There are at least seven reasons why facilities should incorporate submetering into ...
Content type: Core Report | Document ID: TU-96-4 | Author: Bill Howe and Wayne Stebbins
Smart Residential Appliances: Will the Information Superhighway Dead End into a Dumb House?
June 1, 1995
Growing numbers of electric utilities—in partnership with cable companies, controls vendors, and telecommunications providers—are working to develop and deploy interactive home energy management networks capable of communicating with residential appliances.
Content type: Core Report | Document ID: TU-95-4 | Author: Palamadi Vishwanath
Strategic Issues Paper V Real-Time Pricing and Electric Utility Industry Restructuring: Is the Future "Out of Control?"
April 1, 1994
Increased price transparency in electric power markets will be the driving force for fundamental changes in the packaging of energy services for electricity customers. Rapid advances in communications and control capabilities may make it possible for electricity merchants to provide highly customized ...
Content type: Core Report | Document ID: SIP V | Author: James NewcombWarren Byrne
