OG&E was recently notified by the US Department of Energy (DOE) that its application for $130m in stimulus funding to accelerate the smart grid deployment across its entire service territory was accepted for award, pending final negotiations.
The company plans a home area network demand response study to determine if residential and commercial utility customers will chose to shift electricity use during times of peak energy demand to manage costs and lessen the strain on the grid. The study will be conducted with participating customers in Norman, Oklahoma, during the summers of 2010 and 2011.
The turnkey agreement includes demand response consulting work, installation scheduling, call center operations and full marketing support to recruit customers for the time-of-use pricing programme.
Michael Picchi, interim president & CEO of Comverge, said: “We’re pleased to be a part of OG&E’s Positive Energy Smart Grid programme to give customers a tangible role in managing their electricity and improving the efficiency of the electrical system.
“Demand response often provides the economic justification for full advanced metering infrastructure rollouts. This is the first of what we anticipate to be a continuing stream of stimulus-related contract wins for Comverge.”
