Nstar has collaborated with Tendril on this program to leverage its existing automated meter reading (AMR) infrastructure to offer energy information and management to the customers.

Nstar and Tendril will build a framework for Demand Response and direct load control programs to manage residential energy demand, and to implement time-of-use, critical peak and other pricing programs.

Selected homes in Newton, Hopkinton and Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts will be provided energy usage information via the Tendril Insight in-home-display (IHD) and Tendril Vantage web portal.

Tendril platform will allow Nstar to offer pricing to their customers that can help them save energy and money. At times, when usage on the electric grid is high, the communications system can notify customers of incentives available to those willing to lower their energy usage by having the customer temporarily shut off non-essential electric appliances such as lamps or fans.

Some customers will also be offered new ‘smart thermostats’ that would automatically change the temperature in their homes depending on conditions in the company’s electric system. Customers will also be able to track their daily energy usage and cost, compare it against the previous day’s use, and estimate their future bill.

Tom May, chairman, president and CEO of Nstar, said: ”In today’s climate, our customers want simple, cost-effective solutions to help them lower their energy usage and cut down on overall costs.

”By partnering with Tendril to pair our existing meters with the latest technology available, we are helping our customers gain access to useful data at the lowest cost possible. We plan to use the information gathered from the pilot program to help us design future smart grid offerings to all of our customers.”

The $16m pilot program was developed in response to the Massachusetts Green Communities Act and is partially funded through a federal stimulus grant from the Department of Energy. Nstar will begin enrolling qualifying customers in the coming months with the program running through 2012.