Re:For a Bit of Colored Ribbon
by sutterbomb on Monday November 26, 2012 @09:26AM
(#4832009)
In many states in the US, there are energy targets that must be met or the provider is subject to penalties. Opower is a startup who's entire business model (at least to start) was to work with utilities on hitting these targets. I could be wrong, but I think they were actually the first to use this peer comparison model in this space.
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Re:For a Bit of Colored Ribbon
by davetron5000 on Monday November 26, 2012 @10:37AM
(#4832351)
sutterbomb's post is 100% correct. Energy companies are often under strong regulator pressure to reduce consumption or to reduce consumption of specific fuel types (e.g. coal). Compared to wind or solar, a voluntary reduction in use by customers is a much more cost-effective means of meeting such regulations.