The level of services and benefits that electric companies offer their customers has increased since they began deploying smart meters more than a decade ago. Smart meters provide data that households can use to manage energy, save money, set budgets, receive outage alerts and updates, and reduce their carbon footprints. This is particularly valuable as more customers are seeking to control their energy bills.
Powerley/DTE Energy
DTE’s Insight App, powered by smart meter data, has proven to be a critical tool to meet rapidly changing customer needs during the pandemic. The average number of app downloads increased 51 percent in March and April 2020. By applying analytics to smart meter data, DTE Energy’s Insight App delivers device-level energy usage data to customers with 99.8 percent accuracy and helps customers make informed home energy management decisions. On average, Insight generates 5 percent energy savings when a customer engages 25 times or more per calendar year. Since March 2020, five key features of the DTE Insight App have been driving the increase in customer energy engagement.
• Keeping tabs on the Energy Budget: More households are creating energy budgets – with budget tracking increasing by 78 percent.
• Extending Energy Management to the Smart Home: More customers are connecting smart devices, like thermostats, smart plugs, and light bulbs. Connection rates increased by 45 percent since March 2020.
• Engaging with an Energy Advisor: Via the Energy Advisor, customers can seek personalized advice to uncover and eliminate energy waste. Since March 2020, visits to the Advisor increased 34 percent.
• Finding Room for Improvement: Customers are tracking how their actions are driving energy efficiency. Engagement in Energy Scores rose 30 percent since March 2020.
• Keeping Track of Energy Usage: More customers are tracking their whole-home energy usage and watching for energy spikes. Engagement in Energy Visualizations increased 20 percent since March 2020.
This an excerpt from the Institute for Electric Innovation 2021 Electric Company Smart Meter Deployments Foundation for a Smart Grid Report in which Powerley was featured, highlighting the value offered to DTE Energy customers through DTE Insight. Read the full report HERE.