Connected Home and Small Business Demonstration provides free devices and education materials to diverse, 200-customer cohort interested in using emerging tech to reduce their energy consumption and save money
BALTIMORE — August 25, 2020 —
BGE's Annapolis Connected Home and Small Business Demonstration has received a 2020 IoT Evolution Smart City Innovation Award from IoT Evolution World, the leading online publication covering internet-of-things technologies. The award recognizes organizations for delivering exceptional software and hardware solutions that advance the smart home and building industry.
BGE is one of only four companies to receive the IoT honor this year.
"We made a commitment at the inception of our Annapolis demonstration to put individual customers at the center of the technology discussion, empowering them to experiment with devices and functionality that fit their own unique needs," said Sam duPont, principal for strategic programs at BGE and the company's lead for Connected Communities programs. "This award both celebrates the work BGE is doing with customers in Annapolis and affirms the value of our focus on giving customers more control over their energy consumption with new and innovative products and services."
The Annapolis demonstration is an 18-month BGE initiative to identify the impact of remote-access smart-home technologies on customers' efforts to reduce their energy use and save money. The devices also improve accessibility and convenience for users in a variety of ways and help businesses make their operations more efficient. Devices are free to those enrolled, and participants choose from a menu that includes a smart thermostat, Amazon Echo Dot, smart plugs, motion detectors, and smart lighting, among other tech. BGE provides participants with educational materials to guide them through the device installation and implementation process.
Throughout the demonstration project, BGE is gathering anonymous qualitative and quantitative information to determine which devices are most beneficial to the 200 participants. BGE worked with SmartMark Communications to enroll a diverse group of residential customers (based on age and income) and small businesses to ensure program insights are informed by a broad range of user experiences. Thus far, feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Findings from this project will contribute to BGE’s evaluation of new programs and applications that integrate home technologies in the customer experience.
This demonstration is a key component of BGE's ongoing partnership with the city of Annapolis to explore new and innovative opportunities to improve public services. Annapolis is one of many cities to recognize the transformative potential of 'smart' technology—devices that can be controlled remotely and collect and analyze data in real time. BGE's additional work to connect communities in Annapolis includes a microgrid feasibility study, installation of smart streetlights, and deployment of various sensors on both BGE and city-owned infrastructure to help city government enhance its operational efficiency.
Awards from IoT Evolution World are regarded as some of the most prestigious and respected awards in the communications and technology sector worldwide. BGE's Annapolis Connected Home and Small Business Demonstration and the other award winners represent prominent players in the market who consistently demonstrate the advancement of technologies. Each recipient is a verifiable leader in the marketplace.
More information is available at iotevolutionworld.com.
About BGE
BGE, founded in 1816 as the nation’s first gas utility and headquartered in Baltimore, is Maryland’s largest natural gas and electric utility. The company’s approximately 3,200 employees are committed to safe and reliable energy delivery to more than 1.3 million electric customers and more than 680,000 natural gas customers in central Maryland. In the J.D. Power 2017, 2018, and 2019 Electric Utility Business Customer Satisfaction Studies SM BGE was ranked Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Business Electric Service in the East among Large Utilities. In the J.D. Power 2018 and 2019 Gas Utility Business Customer Satisfaction Studies SM BGE was ranked Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Business Natural Gas Service among utilities in the East Region. BGE is a subsidiary of Exelon Corporation (Nasdaq: EXC), the nation’s leading competitive energy provider. Connect with BGE on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube, and engage with the latest BGE stories on bgenow.com.
Baltimore Gas and Electric Company (or "BGE") received the highest score in the East Region of the 2019 Gas Utility Business Customer Satisfaction Study and the East Large Segment of the 2019 Electric Utility Business Customer Satisfaction Study of gas and electric utility customer satisfaction among business customers. Visit jdpower.com/awards.
Contacts:
Meredith Salefski for SmartMark Communications, LLC
615-864-7841
meredith@smartmarkusa.com