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About Ubicquia

Ubicquia® started with a simple idea: we can use existing streetlights and utility poles to make communities smarter, safer and more connected. Since then, the company has helped municipalities, utilities and communication service providers control lighting costs; accelerate 5G deployments; extend public WiFi; deliver video security services; and protect against grid failures. Ubicquia’s products are compatible with more than 360 million streetlights and 500 million utility poles worldwide. We are dedicated to making technology that is easy to install and affordable.

About RealTerm Energy

Founded in 2013, we are North American leaders in LED & Smart Lighting Controls with over 350 successful projects across the U.S. and Canada. Our success is built on a stellar reputation for smooth and timely delivery, a price for performance beyond compare, and a customer-focused mentality offering quality, efficiency and professionalism every time. We also offer innovative and accessible Smart City and Smart Building solutions. Ask us about them.

Media Contact
Ubicquia@berlinrosen.com

Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) announces the launch of Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions, a new commercial brand that unifies products and services offered by several Duke Energy subsidiaries, including Duke Energy Renewables, REC Solar and Duke Energy One, under one comprehensive brand.

Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions offers customized clean energy and resilient infrastructure solutions at scale for private and public companies, government-led organizations and educational institutions nationwide. The new brand marks a significant step forward in connecting customers with innovative, future-focused sustainable energy solutions that will create real change for businesses and communities today and for years to come.

The organization leverages Duke Energy’s deep industry experience to deliver the sustainable energy solutions customers need and want, while empowering them to run stronger, more resilient operations that will help them meet their resiliency, sustainability and clean energy goals.

“We know customers are looking for energy solutions that can create real change in our communities while helping their bottom line,” said Chris Fallon, president, Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions. “We’re combining decades of experience in project development, operations and financing to design innovative solutions that fit within customers’ existing infrastructure or create new renewable energy or resiliency solutions that will address their needs and help them achieve their sustainability goals.”

From financing to planning, and construction and installation to management, Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions offers advanced technology and the latest breakthroughs to create smart and sustainable solutions, empowering companies to make a measurable impact, help reduce emissions and gain resiliency with future-focused solutions tailored to their business model, industry and specific location.

“Over the last several years, it’s become clear to us that customers would benefit from a strategic partner that can evaluate their sustainability, resiliency and ESG goals on a holistic level,” said Robert Vary, senior vice president, sales and relationship management at Duke Energy. “Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions lets us provide customers with a comprehensive approach to sustainability and resiliency, whether that be microgrid solutions, backup generation or power purchase agreements for on premise or utility-scale solar or wind. We evaluate our customers’ needs and design unique solutions that will help meet their overall goals.”

To learn more about Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions, visit: https://sustainablesolutions.duke-energy.com

Media Contact – Duke Energy
Jennifer Garber
24-Hour: 800.559.3853

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.- Crossover Energy Partners (“Crossover”) today announced an exclusive relationship with KKR, one of the world’s leading investment firms.

Crossover Energy Partners’ mission is to support renewable energy initiatives and decarbonization goals for large energy users by designing cost-effective and innovative solutions tailored to their specific needs. Led by founders Tiago Sabino Dias, CEO, and Michael Grunow, president, the Crossover team consists of industry veterans who have contracted or developed over 10.5 GW of renewable energy and 11.7 GWh of energy storage products over the last three years. Its customers include utilities, municipalities, co-ops, community choice aggregations (CCAs), investor-owned utilities (IOUs), and large industrial entities.

The need for end-to-end energy transition solutions is growing, as evidenced by The New Energy Outlook, BloombergNEF’s annual analysis on the future of the energy economy. According to BNEF’s report, wind and solar are anticipated to account for 56% of global electricity generation by mid-century and, together with batteries, will take 80% of the $15.1 trillion invested in new power capacity over the next 30 years. This growth is fueled by the sharp decline of utility-scale lithium-ion battery costs, which are reported to drop 52% by 2040.

Working as the exclusive energy transition solutions partner for KKR, Crossover will oversee the origination, development, financing, construction and long-term operation of clean energy projects in collaboration with KKR’s infrastructure team. Leveraging Crossover’s expertise in utility-scale, energy storage, and custom energy solutions, the relationship will focus on the origination of structured Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), Tolling Agreements, Build-Transfer Agreements (BTAs), as well as offtake optimization, contract structuring, and pursuing new opportunities in rapidly expanding segments such as EV fleets and hydrogen.

“Crossover is committed to designing solutions that meet or exceed our partners’ goals by providing dependable access to renewable energy at competitive prices,” said CEO Sabino Dias. “Our exclusive relationship with KKR will give us an unrivaled ability to execute on that commitment, creating customized energy transition solutions for our customers.”

“I’ve had the pleasure of working with Tiago, Mike, and the Crossover team for several years and time and again, they have proven their ability to execute on projects while consistently delivering value and certainty for energy customers,” said Benoit Allehaut, managing director on KKR’s infrastructure team. “Through this relationship, our investors will get added value from distinctive asset sourcing, customized PPAs, technical expertise in storage and renewable energy, deep operational engagement, and active stakeholder management.”

KKR has been an active investor in renewables investing over the last ten years, deploying more than $4.7 billion in renewable assets at a combined enterprise value exceeding $19.5 billion, with a power generation capacity of 12.5 GW. Over the past 12 months, KKR’s infrastructure team has made a number of investments behind this theme globally, including recent investments in Caruna, Finland’s largest electricity distribution company, NextEra Energy, the world’s largest generator of energy from the wind and sun, Virescent Infrastructure, a newly created platform to acquire renewable energy assets in India, and First Gen, one of the Philippines’ largest independent power producers.

KKR first established its Global Infrastructure strategy in 2008 and has since been one of the most active infrastructure investors around the world with a team of more than 50 dedicated investment professionals. The firm currently oversees approximately $28 billion in infrastructure assets and has made over 40 infrastructure investments across a range of sub-sectors and geographies.

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About Crossover Energy Partners

Crossover Energy Partners supports renewable energy initiatives and decarbonization goals for utilities, municipalities, co-ops, community choice aggregations (CCAs), investor-owned utilities (IOUs), and large industrial entities by developing and executing innovative renewable solutions that exceed economic and sustainability objectives. Crossover Energy Partners works exclusively as the energy transition solutions partner for KKR, a leading global investment firm. As a team of industry experts, we assist KKR’s infrastructure team by bringing the expertise and management needed for the origination, development, construction, financing, and long-term operation of clean energy projects that include utility-scale solar, solar + storage, stand-alone storage, and wind projects. Visit www.crossoverpartners.com for more information or follow us on LinkedIn.

About KKR

KKR is a leading global investment firm that offers alternative asset management and capital markets, and insurance solutions. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people, and supporting growth in its portfolio companies and communities. KKR sponsors investment funds that invest in private equity, credit, and real assets and has strategic partners that manage hedge funds. KKR’s insurance subsidiaries offer retirement, life, and reinsurance products under the management of The Global Atlantic Financial Group. References to KKR’s investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds and insurance subsidiaries. For additional information about KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR), please visit KKR’s website at www.kkr.com and on Twitter @KKR_Co.

Media Contacts

For Crossover Energy Partners:
Wendy Prabhu | Mercom Communications
T: +1 512 215 4452
crossover@mercomcapital.com

Tantalus Systems Corp.

By Pete Londa

The recent winter storm in Texas left dozens of people dead, more than 3 million people without power, and nearly 15 million people with undrinkable water, damaged homes and economic distress from high energy bills. Damage from this storm is astonishing and estimated to cost between $195 billion and $295 billion, making it the most costly disaster in the state’s history—far surpassing the $125 billion in damage caused by Hurricane Harvey. Even now, millions of people are still processing this unprecedented tragedy. Public outcry has led to changes within the leadership team of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). Additionally, the state has witnessed an electric cooperative utility declare bankruptcy, and the reports of looming power bills that will overwhelm families and businesses for months to come are frightening. Investigations are underway as Texas residents struggle to recover, rebuild, and reconcile how this could have possibly happened.

While Texas recovers from the devastation, we all need to ask ourselves a very important question . . . how can we be better prepared when Mother Nature strikes again? The tragic issues that unfolded go well beyond the specific power market dynamics and regulatory structure within Texas. Shame on us if we shrug our shoulders and point to the power market in Texas—which is different from the rest of the United States. Instead, Federal and state politicians, utilities and communities across the country need to work together to re-engineer the existing power grid and transform our infrastructure to be more resilient in the future.

Extreme Weather Events Are On the Rise
The first step to preventing this type of disaster from recurring is to recognize that extreme weather events like the one in Texas are increasing in frequency and ferocity—and they can happen anywhere.

A study last October found that the frequency of climate-related disasters has skyrocketed 83% over the past 20 years. Major floods have more than doubled. The number of severe storms has grown by 40%. Droughts and wildfires like the ones in California and Oregon as well as heatwaves and deep freezes are all on the rise, and the same report concludes that the time is now to prioritize disaster prevention and preparedness.

Texas seems to have come to the same conclusion for itself, even before last month’s storms hit. In the wake of Hurricane Harvey in 2017, which brought rainfall in excess of 60 inches in some places, scientists there concluded that climate change worsened the flooding in Texas, and made a Hurricane Harvey-sized storm at least three times more likely to happen again. And the scary truth is, the vast majority of our nation’s power grid just isn’t ready to withstand Mother Nature’s wrath.

Our Aging Electric Infrastructure Is Not Ready
The meteoric rise of extreme weather events makes a tough situation worse. A recent study by Climate Central found that extreme weather events have caused a 67% increase in power outages since 2000. When the temperatures are below freezing or above 100 degrees Fahrenheit, when there is a fire raging nearby, or when a community is facing flash flooding or dangerous wind gusts, power outages can turn deadly very quickly. We’ve seen all these extreme scenarios throughout 2020 and into this year.

In other words, what happened in Texas isn’t likely to stay in Texas. Utility infrastructures across North America are unprepared for the next natural disaster, wherever it strikes. In November of 2018, the U.S. government’s Fourth National Climate Assessment found that the nation’s energy system is projected to be increasingly threatened by more frequent and longer-lasting power outages due to extreme weather events. Additionally, an Accenture study conducted earlier this year found that 90% of all utility executives believe that an expected rise in severe weather will lead to even more outages, which poses an unacceptable risk to their grids, their businesses and their ability to serve their communities.

Any single event is bad enough. But as we’ve learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re all increasingly interconnected and what happens in one region impacts what happens in another. For example, the power outages and deep freeze in Texas resulted in delayed shipments of the coronavirus vaccine. We can expect further disruptions to supply chains and telecommunications services which will impact an increasing number of employees (even those working remotely) as these kinds of disruptions continue. Additional disruption from power outages is the last thing we need as we struggle to overcome a global pandemic, restart a crippled economy and focus on bare essentials like getting back to work, getting our kids back to school, feeding our families and trying to pay bills.

Investments in Resilient Infrastructure Must Increase
The majority of today’s energy infrastructure in North America is more than 50 years old—and includes equipment that has already exceeded its life expectancy. So even under the most ideal set of conditions, our electric grid is challenged. What’s more, the old generation power grid was never designed to handle the kind of demand and technology prevalent across the country today. The grid was originally engineered as a one-directional system—power gets generated, power gets transmitted, power gets delivered, and power gets consumed. It was never designed to handle sources of generation such as rooftop solar, battery storage, and electric vehicles deployed at the premise or at the edge of the grid.

With an antiquated one-way system, utilities have to send crews out during extreme weather events to determine where the power is down and what is unfolding across their grids. Even worse, utilities typically have to wait to triangulate calls from customers complaining that power is out at their home, business or plant. We live in a world where we get frustrated by abbreviated timing delays while we wait for webpages or content to load on our mobile devices. Why should we rely upon an antiquated system that handicaps the hard-working executives and employees of utilities across North America who are responsible for keeping our lights on when it matters the most? Would those of us with the luxury of accessing high-speed broadband services in our homes, places of work and on our phones be willing to revert back to dial-up internet service from our cable and telecommunication providers?

In essence, relying on a 50-year-old power grid to handle today’s energy demand and complex challenges is like trying to operate the Internet using Morse code. It just doesn’t make sense. What we need is a smart grid that operates as a modern network of connected devices, capable of accessing critical data to provide visibility into what’s unfolding at the edge of electric grids.
This is why billions—and even trillions—of dollars are slated to be spent to get us ready, as quickly as possible, for the next generation of severe weather events. A study conducted by the G20 Global Infrastructure Outlook projected that governments across the world are estimated to spend $28 trillion over the next 20 years through 2040 to transform the electric grid.

Another report from the American Society of Civil Engineers last September concluded that unless the U.S. invests more in its energy infrastructure than currently being spent, we can expect even more costly outcomes from power outages, including:

$637 billion in business losses from 2020 to 2029;
Total output losses of nearly $3 trillion by 2039;
Cumulative GDP will fall by $394 billion by 2029 and by more than $1.7 trillion by 2039, as the result of lost income for workers and business owners; and,
287,000 jobs are projected to be lost by 2029, rising to 540,000 by 2039.

If we’re going to avoid these unacceptable outcomes, we’ve got to help the people on the front lines—utility personnel—by providing them with better options, better choices, and better solutions that put them in the best possible position to respond as the crisis is happening, because that’s where positive change is going to start.

A Utility GM’s Playbook
It’s easy enough to look back at a series of tragic events and diagnose what went wrong and what should have happened differently. But when you’re the general manager of a utility in the thick of a natural disaster of biblical proportions, it’s a tough challenge even for the most seasoned industry veterans.

When initiating plans to respond to massive outages and storm damage, a utility GM needs to ensure that his employees are safe and available to respond to the disaster. Utility teams need to be able to assess what can be accomplished remotely and where crews need to be deployed to resolve problems in the field. This is where automated systems and resilient data connections to devices deployed at the edge of an electric grid are game changers.

After evaluating the situation and finalizing action plans, which in many cases requires Herculean efforts by crews and staff members working around the clock, utility executives need to assess whether their disaster response plan can be implemented. Nobody in Texas ever anticipated the sub-freezing temperatures that shut the grid down across the state. So, in the face of unprecedented circumstances, utility leaders have to ascertain what portions of a disaster preparedness plan still apply and what new protocols need to be put in place ASAP. This is where experienced leaders and trusted technology partners who’ve been through these kinds of disasters before are absolutely essential.

In finalizing plans, utility executives also need to assess the damage—immediately. How many people are out of power? How many are at risk for losing power? How is the electric grid holding up? What’s the impact to critical infrastructure and facilities such as hospitals, emergency response systems and crews, water and gas systems? This is where modern-day outage managements systems and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) solutions make a huge difference.

Once utility executives get a handle on the extent of the damage, they have to find the fastest path to getting the power back on before people’s safety and welfare are compromised. That’s especially important in an ice storm or a wildfire, where the clock is ticking—and this is where it gets especially tricky. How does a utility know how to prioritize responses? How will the utility coordinate with other agencies for an intelligent, cohesive response? Again, real-time data from the edge of the grid makes all the difference here.

Within minutes of a major outage occurring, utility executives know that they’re going to get a call from a mayor, a governor, or some other agency who’s responsible for protecting lives and livelihoods. They’re going to get questions that need quick answers. How bad is it? How long until the power’s back on? What do we do next? In that moment, the only way a utility executive can partner effectively with other agencies and lead the way out of the crisis is with real-time insights—and the flexibility to balance load and respond as quickly as possible.

Fortunately, we’re already seeing a massive adoption of smart grid solutions among utilities all across North America—along with a growing sense of resilience, confidence and control.

Smart Upgrades Are Already Underway
My team and I are privileged to work with some of the most progressive and purpose-driven public power and electric cooperative utilities in the world. They’re shining examples of how utilities can lead the way toward a safer, more resilient, and more sustainable future. Here are just a few of the innovations they are already leveraging—innovations that we and our network of partners are proud to provide—all of which can help utilities prevent and prepare for the tragedy we just saw unfold in Texas.

Remote disconnect meters
Instead of cutting power to entire cities or neighborhoods, utilities with the right technology at their disposal can disconnect rolling groups of customers at their meters to shed immediate demand without compromising the integrity of the entire system. Load can be prioritized and shared. Utilities can systematically protect infrastructure and people by proactively connecting and disconnecting power at the premise with the push of a button. Traffic lights can continue operating, essential services can retain power and customers requiring access to vital medical equipment can be prioritized to keep them safe and healthy.

Load management
With comprehensive load management systems, utilities can access and control non-critical applications and/or manage the load profile within homes, buildings and plants to provide some level of service and avoid putting individuals and property at increasing risk. Utilities can manage water heating and provide limited space heating to keep pipes from freezing while keeping the lights on and the water pumps running. Load management can also control commercial loads and bring backup generators online. And while load management normally focuses on help utilities manage peak hours, it can also be used intensively during disasters until the supply of electricity is fully restored.

Voltage reduction
Many utilities already reduce demand during a disaster with voltage reduction. The challenge is making sure a utility does not go too low for some customers, which is harder than it may seem. For that reason, many utilities don’t reduce their voltage as much as they could. But with real-time voltage feedback from the edge of the electric grid, utilities can run the lowest possible voltage while ensuring every customer stays within acceptable limits. And if a utility has to go for a deliberate “brownout”, they can still safely manage voltage across the system. Either way, real-time feedback ensures the best results.

Streetlight control
If a utility needs to opt into a blackout or reduce demand even further, streetlight control is a useful load reduction tool. Several of our customers are taking advantage of lighting control systems that can turn off lighting in low traffic areas and dim lighting everywhere else. In an emergency, every little bit of control helps.

Storm readiness solutions
By transforming their distribution grids, utilities can give themselves more options for ensuring their systems are balanced, stable and resilient before the next big storm hits. With the right data analytics, they can make sure they’ve trimmed the right branches and replaced failing transformers before they need to deal with unusually high loads. By using granular data from the edge of the grid, utilities can make sure their systems are on firm footing ahead of time.

Accelerated storm response
When disaster strikes, seconds count. Many of the utilities we work with are using extensive real-time outage notifications to pinpoint where crews need to go and what they’ll be dealing with when they get there. Fast restoration notifications confirm quickly that a crew can move from one location where a repair has been completed to the next trouble spot or identify the next downline fault that needs to be resolved in a prioritized and systematic manner. With the right sensors in remote places and the right data analytics, utilities can improve outage prediction and response, know exactly what’s going on, and get back on track quickly and safely.

What’s Next for Utilities
The bottom line is that utilities need to be able to respond faster to increasingly frequent and extreme weather events. When Mother Nature strikes again—and she will—utilities will need the tools to make informed choices. It’s the only way to avoid those impossible decisions, such as shutting off power to entire areas, resorting to price gouging, or even worse, flying blind in the face of disaster.

And it’s not just extreme weather that’s driving the need to evolve. Consumer expectations and consumption patterns are shifting rapidly, as well, along with disruptive new technologies such as electric vehicles, solar power and the proliferation of new distributed energy resources.

The need is clear. The solutions exist. And together with our customers, our partners, and our employees, we see a path forward to a brighter future for our nation’s electric grid, the utilities that operate it and the communities they serve.

For more information about Tantalus and our solutions, visit www.tantalus.com.

UtiliSmart

Energy data holds intrinsic value. But the value of the data does not come automatically. First, the data needs to be accessed, analyzed, and processed; then ultimately, manipulated into something that makes sense. The effective system creates value when it converts data into an actionable decision. Today, utilities process millions of data points per day. Energy consumers want standardized, digital access to this data needed by various business applications and services to unlock data-driven critical insights. These data-driven insights help them to make better, more informed decisions and present them with opportunities to save costs in addition to other benefits.

Utilismart Corporation is a Canadian meter data management and utility analytics software company enabling digital utility transformation for more than two decades. The company strives to solve its customers' problems: the ones they have today and the ones that they will experience tomorrow. Utilismart achieves this by managing and processing large quantities of complex information by converting raw meter data into actionable decisions. As a leading utility data-management and analytics solutions provider, Utilismart inherently understands the value of standards-based energy data. In support of the industry's standardization and digital grid-modernization, Utilismart has joined the Green Button Alliance (GBA) to support its efforts to make energy data interoperable.

The Green Button Connect My Data (CMD) secure energy-data access and sharing method enables utilities to provide digital access to reliable, standards-based energy data while protecting customer privacy. It allows utility customers to authorize third-party apps and services to securely obtain their data and provide powerful insights into energy and water usage, enabling consumers to make informed energy-management decisions and save money.

The Green Button Alliance fosters the development, compliance, and widespread adoption of the Green Button solutions. The alliance members include utilities, governmental departments and agencies, solution providers, and affiliate organizations that collaborate to advance the Green Button initiative to enable consumers to access and share their energy, water, and natural gas usage data, with the goal of better managing their consumption. The GBA educates the market on the broad benefits of Green Button solutions, encourages standards-based application development, and administers the Green Button Testing and Certification Program to accelerate the delivery of standardized Green Button technologies to consumers.

"As more Canadian utilities provide customer usage data in the standardized Green Button format, the market for applications that help commercial, residential, industrial, and municipal users understand their resource consumption greatly expands," said Jeremy J. Roberts, Executive Director, Green Button Alliance. "The GBA is proud to welcome Utilismart as a Participating Member, and we applaud their vision and commitment to helping utilities make these data available to their customers."

By providing commercial, residential, industrial, and municipal users with access to their meter data, users can derive a host of benefits, including:
• Key Insights: Through interactive online dashboards, users can analyze daily, monthly and yearly usage data – providing them with actionable insights for saving energy and money.
• Increased Customer Participation: Home and building owners can control their energy consumption and become more active participants within the energy sector.
• Cost Savings: Users can quickly identify cost savings by changing consumer behaviour, utilizing renewable energy resources and battery storage, or switching rate plans based on their historical usage patterns.
• Energy Efficiency Programs: Property investors can pre-screen homes and buildings to determine the potential energy savings.

Utilismart's Vice President of Business Development and Innovation, Miro Karlicic, says, "Data-driven decisions are what fuels our business and product roadmaps. For years, our goal has been to provide these insights to utilities through solutions like SmartMAP, Energy Manager and Rate Analysis Manager. Now, by leveraging the Green Button energy data interchange standard, we will be able to go a step further in helping utilities provide their customers with the ability to take a deep dive into their consumption footprint: allowing consumers to make informed decisions about their energy and water usage through the use of a standardized ecosystem of Green Button compatible applications."

Utility customers can better understand and control their energy consumption behaviour and related costs thanks to data-driven decisions. Standards-enabled energy data fuels innovation and enables new energy efficiency possibilities and opportunities. The Green Button Alliance has already made considerable strides in giving consumers digital, secure access to energy data through the Green Button energy data interchange standard. "It is an honour to be part of this industry movement, contribute to the adoption of the standard, and we're certainly looking forward to what lies ahead and how we can further support our utility customers," concludes Karlicic.

Brillion

Redefining Digital Customer Engagement

Atlanta, Oct. 5, 2021 – Apogee Interactive, Inc., a privately-held, Atlanta-based, leading provider of proactive customer engagement software for utilities, announced today that Frost and Sullivan has recognized the firm with the 2021 North American Technology Innovation Leadership Award for the North American Market. The prestigious award recognizes companies that shape the future of technology and its uses. Frost and Sullivan measures success by the degree to which a technology is leveraged and the successful introduction of high-tech solutions to answer customers’ most pressing needs, altering the industry or business landscape in the process.

Apogee’s energy analytics platform enriches electric utilities’ customer service capability by combining personal energy-use data with relevant, timely, actionable energy information. The solution automates communications and encourages self-service, thereby increasing utility operational efficiency and dramatically improving customer satisfaction scores. In addition, utilities are successfully educating customers, helping them increase self-service, reduce high bill calls, and build program participation.
This has been a year of distinguished recognition for the firm. In April, Guidehouse Insights’ Leaderboard on Home Energy Management (HEM) ranked Apogee among the top three performers in a field of fifteen. The report ranked Apogee highest among its peers in Technology, Production Strategy, Product Quality & Reliability, and Go-To-Market Strategy for their artificial intelligence (AI) powered, personalized, customer engagement platform. Then in August, Hometown Connections, the public power industry’s partner for vetting best-in-class vendors, honored Apogee as their Partner of the Year.

According to Susan Gilbert, Apogee’s CEO and co-founder, “We are proud to be recognized this year for our analytical excellence and cutting-edge innovation by so many industry leaders.” She adds, “Our key distinctive is the accuracy of our AI-powered algorithms that disaggregate customer’s bills then create personalized videos that not only educate, but also impress customers.”

The Frost and Sullivan report, 2021 Technology Innovation Leadership, further explains, “The ability to provide a comprehensive energy engagement solution that includes bill change explanations and predictions including renewable energy considerations gives Apogee a compelling advantage over its competitors.” The award, based on a 10-point methodology, shows Apogee outperforming its competitors with an overall score of 9.25.

To read the complete Frost and Sullivan report and learn how Apogee is shaping the future of energy analysis and utility customer engagement you can review the report here.

About Apogee
Apogee Interactive is a leading provider of customer engagement services for utilities, serving the energy industry since 1993. Apogee’s customer engagement platform helps utilities engage and inform customers, reduce costs, achieve behavioral energy efficiency, and increase customer satisfaction. Apogee’s solution enables personalized and relevant messaging through multiple channels, encourages self-service, and improves operational efficiencies through automation. Apogee’s loyal client base includes ConEd, Southern Company, NextEra Energy, American Electric Power, Tampa Electric, People’s Gas, CenterPoint, Xcel Energy, LADWP, and hundreds of other IOU, municipal, cooperative, and gas utilities. For more information visit, www.apogee.net or on LinkedIn.

GDS Associates, Inc.

GDS Associates, Inc. has added two California consultants to the team, ready to serve California and the surrounding West Coast area.

Formerly with the California ISO, Perry Servedio and Donald Tretheway have joined GDS. Mr. Servedio will serve as a Senior Project Consultant and Mr. Tretheway will fill the role of Managing Director. They bring specialized experience to join a talented team including: Kevin Mara, P.E., Executive Vice President; Garrett Cole, P.E., Principal; John Chiles, Principal; Howard Choy, Executive Consultant; Gary Saleba, Executive Consultant; Amber Gschwend, Managing Director; and Matt Smith, Senior Project Engineer.

The timing of this addition couldn’t be better to help valued California and West Coast clients tackle current industry issues such as CAISO and Western Energy Imbalance Market (EIM) Design (EDAM, Wheeling Priorities, Scarcity, Resource Adequacy) Battery Storage (Bid Optimization, O&M, Degradation, Configuration) Renewable Solar, Wind & Hydrogen Resource & Decarbonization Planning Interconnection, Powerflow Modeling & Transmission Queue Applications Portfolio Management & Clean Energy, "Zero Carbon" IRP Planning.

As a multi-service consulting and engineering firm, GDS offers clients multiple sources for assistance, ensuring complete, competent, and timely service. Our specialized staff of over 180 employees are located across 9 offices nationwide, with 4 full-time consultants in California and additional team members in our Washington office.

Tantalus Systems Corp.

BURNABY, BC – November 2, 2021 – Smart grid technology leader Tantalus Systems (TSX: GRID) announced today that six members of its growing user community have subscribed to the TUNet® Grid Reliability Analytics (TGRA) solution in the first month since commercially launching these capabilities in September of this year. TGRA is a data analytics tool that leverages power quality data accessed through Tantalus’ advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) to help utilities identify failing assets deployed throughout an electric distribution grid that can lead to power outages or catastrophic fires.

The analytics solution detects anomalies in power quality data, such as loss of voltage at the premise, blink count, aggregate blink count, maximum voltage, minimum voltage, current readings and power factor, from the edge of a utility’s distribution grid. By accessing and analyzing such data from residences, commercial buildings and other end customers, TGRA enables utilities to identify symptoms of failing transformers, corroded meter sockets and splices, cracked insulators and other latent equipment problems that can lead to premature failure of critical assets that are required to reliably deliver power to homes and businesses. The ability to track the performance of the distribution grid enables these utilities to proactively manage system assets, prioritize upgrades and investments into the grid, allocate resources, reduce costs, mitigate fire risks and avoid outages resulting in an improvement to overall system performance.

“After relying on Tantalus’ AMI system for several years, we decided to work with their team to determine how our utility could more proactively manage our distribution grid based on the granular data we capture. Tantalus’ new analytics solution helps us quickly pinpoint power quality issues that are developing across our distribution grid that would otherwise not be visible to our operations team until becoming much more problematic,” remarked Sarah Clark, AMI Coordinator at Estes Park Power and Communications. “By leveraging our AMI data through this new analytics tool, Tantalus is helping our utility identify areas of vulnerability across our grid and correspondingly prioritize capital expenditures to improve the resiliency and reliability of the services we provide to our community.”

By leveraging TGRA, utilities are able to enhance customer relations and member satisfaction by using AMI data to proactively solve problems before underlying issues lead to sustained power outages.

“Our purpose is to help utilities transform their distribution grids into digital networks that are more resilient, reliable and efficient,” said Peter Londa, President & CEO of Tantalus Systems. “Launching our new analytics tool is a concrete example of how we are enabling utilities to go beyond the traditional notion of AMI systems by analyzing data captured by our devices to provide situational awareness and granular command and control of the assets utilities deploy to safely and reliably deliver power to their customers and members. We truly appreciate the opportunity to work alongside utilities such as Estes Park to deliver solutions that empower utilities to proactively make the necessary investments that improve the reliability and resiliency of the electric distribution grid.”

About Tantalus Systems (TSX: GRID)

Tantalus is a smart grid technology company that transforms aging one-way grids into future-proofed multi-directional grids that improve the efficiency, reliability and sustainability of public power and electric cooperative utilities and the communities they serve. Our solutions are purpose-built to allow utilities to restore power quickly after major disruptions, adapt to rapidly shifting consumer expectations and population shifts, innovate new solutions based on the adoption of distributed energy resources and evolve their grid infrastructure at their own pace without needless cost or complexity. All this gives our user community the flexibility they need to get the most value from existing infrastructure investments while planning for future requirements.

Forward-Looking Information:

This news release includes information, statements, beliefs and opinions which are forward-looking, and which reflect current estimates, expectations and projections about future events, including, but not limited to, the adoption, functionality and effectiveness of TUNet Grid Reliability Analytics and other statements that contain words such as “believe,” “expect,” “project,” “should,” “seek,” “anticipate,” “will,” “intend,” “positioned,” “risk,” “plan,” “may,” “estimate” or, in each case, their negative and words of similar meaning. By its nature, forward-looking information involves a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. These risks, uncertainties and assumptions could adversely affect the outcome and financial effects of the plans and events described herein. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information, which is based on the information available as of the date of this news release and Tantalus disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information contained in this new release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless required by applicable law. The forward-looking information included in this new release is expressly qualified in its entirety by this cautionary statement.

Utilismart Corporation is pleased to announce the latest updates for their industry-leading MDM-driven utility analytics solution, SmartMAP. The new software release, scheduled for Q2 2022, will deliver robust data analytics to improve grid visibility. The new features will help utilities across North America advance their digital transformation journey.

Today's distribution utilities are faced with an ever-increasing mix of Distribution Energy Resources (DERs). In addition, new electrification trends bring significant loads such as Electrical Vehicles (EVs), which put pressure on ageing infrastructure and affect system resilience and reliability. With each new technology comes more data that can help improve system visibility and flexibility and support impact analysis studies. SmartMAP provides advanced system visibility and planning capabilities, allowing utilities to expand their distribution systems using augmented analytics.

Enhanced Grid Visibility
The latest SmartMAP update will provide the capability to detect the existence of EVs across the distribution system and analyze the impact they make on distribution system assets. A growing concern for many utilities is how to manage distribution transformers overloaded due to the increased adoption of DERs and EVs and how to minimize the cost and impact of premature asset failures. "SmartMAP provides distribution system visualization and data analytics required for proactive system and asset management," said VP of Business Development and Innovation, Miroslav Karlicic. "Utility engineers can now utilize data analytics, in near real-time, to assess the impact of their decisions and build better, flexible, 21st-century digital grids," adds Karlicic.

Grid visibility improves system reliability and extends the life of assets.
SmartMAP provides distribution utilities with grid analytics that help them mitigate against system failures that could lead to outages. SmartMAP's data analytics engine creates insights enabling distribution transformer loading and voltage visibility. The data-driven decisions enabled by SmartMAP increase the life of distribution transformers and reduce the likelihood of power outages and related costs. "Our motto at Utilismart is to turn data into decisions." SmartMAP converts data into decisions, enabling better and timely decisions," notes Karlicic.

SmartMAP is a powerful and cost-effective utility analytics solution. With its interactive dashboard, distribution utilities can gain essential insights from the grid to manage their day-to-day operations better and create operational efficiencies. To learn more about how you can reduce operating costs, improve system visibility, optimize grid performance, and increase operational efficiencies, visit: www.utilismartcorp.com.

________________________________________________________
Utilismart Corporation Media Related Inquiries
Inside Sales and Marketing Manager
Zoe van Niekerk
+1 226 927 2460
zniekerk@utilismartcorp.com

About Utilismart Corporation
Utilismart Corporation is a dynamic company with a portfolio of solutions that facilitates digital utility transformation. Its digital utility platform empowers 21st-century utilities to unlock smart grid technologies, enabling them to make real-time decisions, maximizing operational efficiencies, reliability, and flexibility of their services. It helps distribution utilities gain abilities and efficiencies in meter data management, process automation, outage management, engineering analysis, billing, asset management, customer engagement, grid visualization, rate analysis, and more. Utilismart prides itself on having an unequalled track record of successfully delivering data-enabled solutions for over 20 years. Utilismart is an industry leader, providing cloud-based Meter Data Management (MDM) solutions and data services to over 140 Utilities, Municipalities, Industrial, Commercial and Residential customers across Canada and United States. The company prides itself on being a solutions-driven team that acts as our customers' technical eyes and hands, combining a wealth of industry knowledge and cutting-edge technical experience to create software solutions that drive results. To learn how you can turn data into decisions, please visit www.utilismartcorp.com

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