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Clearview Electric Powers Up SAS® Energy Forecasting
[October 15, 2013]

Clearview Electric Powers Up SAS® Energy Forecasting


CARY, N.C. --(Business Wire)--

Today's volatile electricity market puts added pressure on energy forecasters. Both underestimating and overestimating electricity demand can significantly affect a utility's bottom line. As deregulated markets opened up in the US, Clearview Electric experienced rapid growth in residential customer base and revenue. With its expansion across 10 states, Excel®-based forecasting collapsed under the strain of big data. The company selected SAS® Energy Forecasting to predict demand and costs. It helps the utility buy the right amount of electricity and price it competitively.

"Forecasting was a time-consuming, manual process that involved downloading large amounts of data from various sites and applying industry trends," said Derek Campbell, Clearview Electric CFO. "But trends generalize one usage volume for every residential customer, and actual energy usage varies from home to home. Forecast inaccuracy exposed us to significant financial risk during energy procurement. We've seen the results of such financial risk force other companies to exit the market. We began our search for analytics that are powerful enough to manage large volumes of omplex data."



Improved load forecasting reduces uncertainties and generates value

"We chose SAS (News - Alert) Energy Forecasting to help us predict our load more accurately. Now we procure just the right volume of wholesale electricity," Campbell continues. "SAS integrates and analyzes individual customer-consumption data, weather data and other data sources. We know we're getting highly accurate forecasts because SAS compares our specific energy use to our historical forecasts. That's invaluable information because it drives our cash flow and, ultimately, how we run our business."


"Better, faster forecasts power all levels of decision making including CFOs, risk managers, wholesale procurement, marketing, sales and business development teams," said Alyssa Farrell, Energy Product Marketing Manager at SAS. "Good forecasts result in more confident decision making throughout the enterprise. Using SAS, companies like Clearview have become more agile, operating more efficiently and effectively in very fluid energy markets."

SAS Energy Forecasting improves overall process performance through the inclusion of data management, forecasting and reporting. It handles multiple planning horizons - from days to years - to help suppliers, utilities and co-ops operate more efficiently without hiring additional planning or forecasting staff.

To learn about opportunities for harnessing smart grid data to get the most out of energy forecasting, read the free white paper, How Does Forecasting Enhance Smart Grid Benefits?

About SAS®

SAS is the leader in business analytics software and services, and the largest independent vendor in the business intelligence market. Through innovative solutions, SAS helps customers at more than 65,000 sites improve performance and deliver value by making better decisions faster. Since 1976 SAS has been giving customers around the world THE POWER TO KNOW®. SAS and all other SAS Institute Inc. product or service names are registered trademarks or trademarks of SAS Institute Inc. in the USA and other countries. ® indicates USA registration. Other brand and product names are trademarks of their respective companies. Copyright © 2013 SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved.


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