Outage outrage — lessons from derecho storm: heed the worst case outcome

For the more than 5 million customers who saw their power wiped out by the so-called “derecho” storm that swept across six states in the upper Midwest and Mid-Atlantic U.S. June 29, there was little if anything energy and telecommunications companies did to minimize the damage, the 22-person death toll and political fallout. Like it [...]

Smart grid apps poised to score energy savings on top of more-successful-than-expected efficiency programs

Early lessons from utilities deploying proactive smart grid programs with their customers point to potentially significant energy savings if consumers are engaged with targeted communications they find relevant to their values and lifestyles. When matched with stronger-than-expected gains being achieved through more traditional efficiency programs found in a report out this month by the Consortium [...]