BGE, CPower, Tetra Tech, General Microgrids, Innovari, OhmConnect, and DVI join the Association for DR & Smart Grid

WASHINGTON, Feb. 24, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Seven more leaders in demand response and smart grid have joined the Association for Demand Response & Smart Grid (ADS), the national DR and smart grid organization. They come aboard as ADS prepares for the upcoming National Town Meeting on Demand Response and Smart Grid (www.demandresponsetownmeeting.com). The new members are Baltimore Gas & Electric, CPower, Tetra Tech, General Microgrids, Innovari, OhmConnect, and DVI.

ADS is a non-profit organization based in Washington, DC, that focuses on development and exchange of information among policymakers, utilities, technology companies, and other stakeholders. It includes as members companies and organizations, as well as individuals who consider themselves demand response (DR) and smart grid professionals.

"We are excited to have these new members join ADS and help us grow our ability to serve the needs of the DR and smart grid community," said Dan Delurey, CEO of ADS. "BGE has been a leader on implementing successful demand response programs in its territory. CPower, a newly formed company created out of a merger of the C&I demand response businesses from Comverge and Constellation, will certainly be one of the country's premier DR providers. Tetra Tech consults on energy, environment, and infrastructure on many DR and smart grid projects. General Microgrids is breaking ground on the development of smart microgrids in the U.S. and developing countries, and will be heading up ADS' new Microgrids Committee. Innovari provides a platform to allow utilities and customers to work together to better manage energy and grid performance. OhmConnect uses information and fun to drive its users to be smarter and more efficient in their energy use. And DVI provides solutions for energy efficiency, DR, Volt/VAR control and renewables integration, and will be leading ADS' new Volt/VAR Optimization Committee."

"We are especially happy to have these new members come on board as we ramp up for the 12^th annual National Town Meeting on Demand Response and Smart Grid," said Howard Smith of Alabama Power, Chairman of ADS. "They have already begun to help us as we put together the agenda and program for the event coming up May 26-28 in Washington, DC." 

Baltimore Gas & Electric (BGE) serves over 1.2 million customers and is committed to delivering safe and reliable electric and gas. Not only does BGE act as an innovator in its industry, but giving back to the community has been a cornerstone of all company aspects since being founded in 1816. BGE is a subsidiary of Exelon Corporation, the nation's leading competitive energy provider, where they share a devotion that focuses heavily on environmental responsibility and employee volunteering. For more information, visit www.bge.com.

CPower is one of the largest energy management companies in North America. In late 2014, the commercial & industrial energy management divisions of established energy specialists Constellation and Comverge, Inc. merged to form a new independent company. Together they brought their collective wealth of expertise and each one's more than 25 years of experience helping customers implement customized demand-side management programs to form a new company. Its focus solely on providing customers with the broad array of products and services large energy-consuming businesses need to reduce costs. Both companies had earned strong reputations for personalized and attentive customer care and solid client loyalty. For more information, visit www.cpowercorp.com.  

Tetra Tech is a leading provider of consulting, engineering, and technical services worldwide. It is a diverse company, including individuals with expertise in science, research, engineering design, construction management, and information technology. Its strength is in collectively providing integrated services—delivering the best solutions to meet clients' needs. Tetra Tech's innovative, sustainable solutions help clients address their water, environment, energy, infrastructure, and resource management challenges. They are proud to be home to leading technical experts in every sector and to use that expertise throughout the project life cycle. Their commitment to safety is ingrained in their culture and at the forefront of every project. For more information, visit www.tetratech.com.

General Microgrids (GMI) is breaking ground in the United States and various developing countries on advancing "smart microgrid systems" as part of evolving an Integrated Smart Grid that recognizes and takes fully into account the value of distributed (including onsite renewable energy) and demand-side resources. These "dynamic microgrids" can serve as integrative agents between the bulk power system and distributed resources. Operating on an "intelligent distributed energy management" service model, General MicroGrids is developing smart microgrids as a resiliency and sustainability tool and grid resource that utilities, customers and communities can employ to address system complexities of managing wide and dynamic sets of distributed and intermittent resources and control points to achieve cost-effectively overall intelligent and efficient load and resource management. Through its work, GMI seeks to demonstrate how strategic application of this model can accelerate both renewable energy market penetration, as well as the transformation of our electricity value chain. For more information, visit www.generalmicrogrids.com.

Innovari's interactive energy platform connects utilities, their customers, and their communities to improve how the world uses energy. Their solution attacks the electric grid's core problem—the load duration curve—unlocking access to affordable capacity that improves system utilization, reliability, and financial performance. With deep grid situational awareness, they enable dynamic, two-way verifiable demand side management; grid system optimization; renewable and distributed energy resources integration; and more. For more information, visit www.innovari.com. Innovari is a VantagePoint Capital Partners Energy Innovations Portfolio Company: www.vpcp.com.

OhmConnect brings demand response into the era of Smart Grid 2.0 by using modern communications and a simplified experience. By connecting energy customers with engaging visualizations, behavioral programs and smart home services, OhmConnect has delivered what the smart grid has promised customers for years. Their rapidly growing customer base participates in weekly demand response events through behavioral programs and software-based automation tools. Many customers have organized "Energy Fundraisers" in which community members have chosen to forgo their personal payouts and donate their earnings to local sustainability projects instead. For more information, visit www.ohmconnect.com.  

DVI, a Dominion Resources Company, is a leading provider of grid optimization solutions that are designed to address many of today's most sought after smart grid applications covering the areas energy efficiency, demand response, Volt/Var control, and renewables integration.  DVI's patented technology and proven implementation methodologies help utilities' plan, manage, and validate their investments in grid optimization projects resulting in significant savings for both the utilities and their customers.  For more information, visit www.dvigridsolutions.com.

About the Association for Demand Response & Smart Grid
The Association for Demand Response & Smart Grid (ADS) is a nonprofit organization, originally formed as the Demand Response Coordinating Committee (DRCC) in 2004. ADS is a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization consisting of professionals and organizations involved in demand response and smart grid. It provides services to meet the needs of its members that help them in the conduct of their work and in the attainment of their personal, corporate and governmental objectives. ADS seeks to establish and grow a demand response "community" of policymakers, utilities, system operators, technology companies, consumers, and other stakeholders. More information on ADS can be found at: www.demandresponsesmartgrid.org

Group Members of ADS are American Public Power Association, Baltimore Gas & Electric, C3 Energy, California ISO, ComEd, Comverge, Conservation Services Group, Constellation, Consumers Energy, CPower, DTE Energy, Duke Energy, DVI, ENBALA, EnergyHub, EnerNOC, General Microgrids, Innovari, ISO New England, Landis+Gyr, MISO, National Grid, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, Navigant Energy Practice, Nest Labs, Nexant, NYSERDA, OhmConnect, On-Ramp Wireless, OPower, Pacific Gas & Electric, PECO, PJM Interconnection, Reliant, Rodan Energy Solutions, Inc., San Diego Gas & Electric, Sensus, Siemens, Silver Spring Networks, Southern California Edison, Southern Company, Tennessee Valley Authority, Tetra Tech, and Vermont Energy Investment Corporation.   

About the National Town Meeting on Demand Response and Smart Grid
The 2015 National Town Meeting on Demand Response and Smart Grid will be held on May 26-28, in Washington, DC, at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center. More information on the 2015 National Town Meeting can be found at www.smartgridtownmeeting.com.

SOURCE Association for Demand Response and Smart Grid