[October 03, 2012]

SmartEnergy IP™ Announces Launch of DOE Working Group to Develop Industry Framework for Smart Grid Customer Education

Today SmartEnergy IP™, a leading strategy and research firm dedicated to smart grid customer education, announced being awarded a contract from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to create the Smart Grid Customer Education Working Group. The working group will bring stakeholders from the energy and utilities industry together with the common purpose of sharing information and building best practices around smart grid customer education. By evaluating tools, techniques and programs used by utilities across the United States to introduce advanced metering, time-of-use rates, and energy management to its customers, the group will develop a Smart Grid Customer Education Model that will become a resource for utilities rolling out smart grid programs.

"The overall success of smart grid will ultimately depend on whether or not customers take a more proactive role in managing their energy use," said Juliet Shavit, President of SmartEnergy IP™. "Given the need for utilities to effectively communicate the deployment and benefits of advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) with customers, we look forward to collectively using the knowledge and experience of the Smart Grid Customer Education Working Group to develop industry best practices for smart grid customer education."

Shavit added, "With utilities and regulators across the nation searching for ways to measure the success of customer education pograms, it is becomingly increasingly critical to bring together stakeholders from the energy and utilities industry to develop and implement best practices for educating customers about smart meter deployments and related programs. After harnessing the expertise of the Smart Grid Customer Education Working Group to create a Smart Grid Customer Education Model, we look forward to providing utilities with the tools and the technology needed to interact and engage with their customers on smart grid."

The Smart Grid Customer Education Working Group will be made up of investor-owned, municipal, and cooperative utilities in addition to solutions providers, research organizations, industry associations, regulators and public advocates. For more information on how to join the Smart Grid Customer Education Working Group, please email workinggroup@smartenergy-ip.com.

The Smart Grid Customer Education Model will be made available to the electric power industry on SmartGrid.gov, a multiagency Web site dedicated to providing basic information about the Smart Grid, the Recovery Act Smart Grid Programs and other Federal grid modernization initiatives. To learn more about the Smart Grid Customer Education Working Group or SmartEnergy IP™, please visit, www.smartenergy-ip.com or call Kristin Marcell at 215-504-4272.

About SmartEnergy IP^TM

SmartEnergy IP^TM practice is a research and consulting organization within SmartMark Communications, LLC that is dedicated to helping utilities communicate the benefits of Smart Grid to customers. As utilities roll out Smart Grid initiatives - from smart meters to dynamic pricing programs-there are ways to ensure that customers are best prepared to make smart energy choices and positively support these rollouts. SmartMark Communications has over a decade of experience in the energy and utilities customer care domain, helping utilities and suppliers market effectively to customers. For more information, visit www.smartenergy-ip.com.

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