Digital-centric programs and appliance-level insights fast-track energy savings and boost customer satisfaction

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Bidgely Gas and Dual Fuel Utility customers save more with artificial intelligence(Credit: Pixabay/Bethany Drouin.)

Bidgely announced successful deployments of its UtilityAI Platform solution for gas and dual fuel utilities, delivering results that exceeded energy savings goals and increased digital resilience for multiple utilities. In a program to evaluate savings for medium-consumption customers, Bidgely partnered with one of the nation’s largest natural gas distribution utilities to run a digital-only home energy reports (HERs) program for more than 400,000 customers. More than 285,000 therms savings were realized in three-and-a-half months after launch – translating to a 0.5 percent savings rate for medium-consumption customers – and digital customer engagement resulted in a 50 percent email open rate and 81 percent “Like” rating from customers.

In partnership with another leading gas utility in the northeast, Bidgely has implemented an ongoing HERs program where coverage expanded to 700,000 customers, of which 35 percent are now receiving digital-only reports. The program has achieved nearly 398,000 MCF (4.1 MM therms) energy savings nine months into the program, which has already exceeded their annual savings goal.

“Gas and dual fuel utilities are achieving impressive, cost effective and measurable savings through AI and digital-first programs while also facilitating more inclusive and intelligent services for broader segments of diverse customers,” said Abhay Gupta, CEO of Bidgely. “Our focus on deriving value from utility customer data through our AI-powered solutions, and through our partnerships with leading smart meter providers like Itron, is helping utilities fast-track digital and virtual initiatives. It is now more important than ever to build this kind of resilience into utility systems, which allows them to pivot more effectively in times of uncertainty.”

A new patent grant recently awarded to Bidgely, Low Frequency Energy Disaggregation Techniques, reinforces the accuracy of disaggregation for gas appliances like water heating and adds to the broad portfolio of patents Bidgely holds for disaggregation technology. Layering on applied AI, gas and dual fuel utilities with greater visibility into appliance-level usage experience improvements in value-driven uses cases, including:

  • Digital Customer Experience – digital alerts, virtual audits and personalized web dashboards improve customer satisfaction, audit competitions and self-service outcomes.
  • Energy Efficiency – HERs and tailored messaging empower customers to take energy savings actions, helping gas utilities to reduce operational costs.
  • Rebates and Expansion – ensures education and understanding of efficient gas appliance options, increasing cost effectiveness and share of market.
  • Enhanced Targeting – appliance-level insights enhance alignment of grid management objectives and improve efficiency of program/product targeting.
  • New Revenues and Recruitment – drives non-energy revenue through a vertically integrated products and services model or improves program recruitment and enrollment.

Source: Company Press Release