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What are today’s most promising emerging technologies? Join us for Tech Roundup to find out.

The E Source Tech Roundup is held twice a year to keep our members up to date on the latest developments in the world of efficient technologies. In this interactive, rapid-fire web conference, we’ll discuss technologies our tech team has evaluated over the past six months that offer the most potential for utility demand-side management programs. This is a must-attend web conference! Please note that we covered most of these technologies at our 2018 E Source Forum Tech Roundup session.

We’ll discuss:

• Liquid cooling for data servers
• Technologies for dipper wells in ice cream shops
• Membrane oxygenation for liquid wastewater treatment
• Reusable grow medium for indoor agriculture
• Distributed energy resource management systems (DERMS)
• Wireless energy monitoring
• Heat-pump clothes dryers
• Debunking disaggregation
• Smart wireless controllers for commercial hydronic heating systems
• Advanced residential HVAC controls.

Speakers:

Andrea Salazar, Associate Director, Technology Assessment, E Source

Jay Stein, Senior Fellow, E Source

Essie Snell, Senior Research Manager, Technology Assessment, E Source

Bryan Jungers, Lead Analyst, Technology Assessment, E Source

Logan Jacobson, Analyst, Technology Assessment, E Source

Zach Hamber, Associate Analyst, Technology Assessment, E Source

Monali Mujumdar, Senior Analyst, Technology Assessment, E Source

For more information about attending this event, please email us or call 1-800-ESOURCE (1-800-376-8723).

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Several utility incentive programs have sprung up to support the adoption of more-efficient lighting in indoor agriculture and cannabis cultivation facilities, most commonly for LED replacements. By comparison, only a small handful of utility programs have begun to look for savings opportunities from other end-use measures, such as HVAC or dehumidification system upgrades. This has been partly attributed to the complexity of indoor agriculture operations and a general lack of familiarity among contractors and utility programs staff. We have invited four industry experts to share their knowledge and experience with successfully implementing facility upgrades that push beyond simple lighting retrofits to capture deeper and more reliable energy savings.

Potential topics include:

• How indoor agriculture facilities use energy, and where savings opportunities exist for a typical facility
• Best bets for HVAC, dehumidification, and controls upgrade measures for indoor agriculture facilities
• Lessons learned from the field that will help you avoid common pitfalls with your programs
• How to successfully roll these measures out in your utility’s program and meet customer needs

Speakers:

Bryan Jungers, Senior Analyst, E Source
Francis Boucher, Program Manager, National Grid
Joe Sullivan, Director of Operations, Cultivate EO
Mike Christianson, Director of Customer Engagement, Energy 350
Scot M. Duncan, President, Conservant Systems

For more information about attending this event, please email us or call 1-800-ESOURCE (1-800-376-8723).

NOTE: This event has already taken place. See below for recording, event description, and link to download the presentation slides.

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How is your demand-side management (DSM) portfolio changing with the rise of distributed energy resources (DERs)? Many utilities across the US and Canada are looking for new opportunities to hit energy-efficiency targets while integrating a growing number of new DER technologies. Traditional energy-efficiency programs, such as lighting and appliance rebates, have long helped utilities achieve their goals with the added benefit of providing opportunities for positive customer interactions. But these tried-and-true savings opportunities are drying up as customer interest and grid needs change. Customers are increasingly interested in solar, battery storage, electric vehicles, and the Internet of Things. Utilities also face emerging operational challenges as they strive to manage load and integrate renewables and DERs into the grid, all while load growth is flattening.

The 2018 E Source Utility DER Strategy Benchmark indicates that one way many utilities are addressing the situation in their service territories is by incorporating more DER technologies and integrated DSM/DER solutions into their customer programs.

Join experts from E Source and Tierra Resource Consultants, a full-service energy and natural resource management consulting firm, to learn more about this important trend and a customer-centric, data-based approach to addressing it. We’ll discuss how an analysis-driven approach to DER integration will enable you to objectively determine the most effective energy-efficiency and DER measures for your portfolio as well as increase positive engagement with key customer segments based on grid needs and customer propensity for adoption.

You’ll learn:

• How to design your DER strategy to meet customer and grid needs
• Which DSM/DER-related programs customers are most interested in
• How utility DER and DSM customer program portfolios are evolving
• How to objectively measure the value of new and existing technologies based on your resource and customer needs
• How combining market research–based customer segmentation with program and measure load shape modeling can provide useful insights into specific changes your utility can make to improve customer satisfaction and more-effectively manage demand

Speakers:

Alanya Schofield, Senior Director, Strategy and New Products, E Source

Chad Garrett, Managing Director, Consulting and Advisory Services, E Source

Tom Hines, Principal, Tierra Resource Consultants

Matthew Joyce, Managing Consultant, Tierra Resource Consultants

For more information about attending this event, please email us or call 1-800-ESOURCE (1-800-376-8723).

NOTE: This event has already taken place. See below for recording, event description, and link to download the presentation slides.

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Lighting for cannabis cultivation and other indoor agriculture applications is a hot topic because growers think more-efficient lighting doesn’t perform as well as the energy-intensive lights found in their facilities. During this web conference, we’ll talk with representatives from the indoor agriculture industry who are working to develop alternative lighting technologies for growers.

You’ll learn:

• Why growers prefer specific lighting technologies over others
• The history of LED adoption in indoor agriculture, as well as current developments
• The potential for plasma lighting—a brand-new opportunity for horticulture
• How leading growers adjust their practices to make efficient lighting work for them

Speakers:

Bryan Jungers, Lead Analyst, Technology Assessment, E Source

Corinne Wilder, Director of Sales Operations, Fluence Bioengineering

Kat Donnelly, co-CEO and Founder, Azentive

Rebecca Knight, PhD, Technical Marketing Director, Biological Innovation & Optimization Systems

For more information about attending this event, please email us or call 1-800-ESOURCE (1-800-376-8723).

NOTE: This event has already taken place. See below for recording, event description, and link to download the presentation slides.

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E Source and EnerTech Capital, the longest continuously operating venture investment manager with a focus on energy and power industries, have collaborated to bring a deeper and more-sophisticated level of access to the energy industry’s emerging innovators. To understand utility disruption and the resulting opportunities, it’s important to hear from the entrepreneurs themselves. For our Innovation Showcase web conference series, part of the E Source Utility Innovation Partnership Program, we’ll feature one industry innovator per event. Participants will learn about the entrepreneur’s technology as well as their market perspective, business strategy, and progress.

This month’s featured company is Blue Pillar. The company is a leading provider of facility Internet of Things and energy software solutions used by complex single site and multisite facilities, highly critical facilities, and energy service providers engaged in helping these facilities become more energy efficient, resilient, and self-sufficient. Blue Pillar’s Aurora platform combined with its robust suite of local and centralized energy applications enable connectivity, control, and management of facility energy assets to help facilities address their energy goals. Blue Pillar’s historic customers are often in the healthcare and university verticals or in organizations with significant numbers of critical facility sites such as those in the telecom or transportation industries. Additionally, Blue Pillar is working with energy service providers looking to engage these types of facility customers with new service offerings that require behind-the-meter connectivity and central control. Note: This web conference isn’t an E Source or EnerTech Capital endorsement of Blue Pillar.

About the E Source Utility Innovation Showcase

We designed this web conference series to provide you with in-depth, structured presentations from privately owned companies with innovative products, services, and business models. We individually vet and select these companies based on their unique characteristics and market perspectives. Although not an endorsement, we believe these companies and their products could affect the energy industry and provide a window into new business models and new ways of thinking about utility opportunities.

Potential topics include:

• Company description
• Key management staff
• Problems the company solves
• Target market
• Competition
• Unique characteristics
• “Go to market” strategy
• Business model
• Technology or product roadmap and timeline

About the E Source Utility Innovation Partnership Program

This program provides utilities with specialized access to top-tier emerging market intelligence, energy venture deal flow, competitive market perspectives, and closed-door business conversations with some of the most experienced North American energy investors—all without having to make a long-term capital commitment. This partnership between E Source, one of North America’s most respected utility research and consulting firms, and EnerTech Capital introduces clients to new technologies, new business models, and new ways of thinking. Please reach out to Matthew Burks with any questions.

Speakers:

Tom Willie, CEO, Blue Pillar

Scott Ungerer, Founder and Managing Partner, EnerTech Capital

Matthew Burks, Chief Strategy Officer, E Source

For more information about attending this event, please email us or call 1-800-ESOURCE (1-800-376-8723).

NOTE: This event has already taken place. See below for recording, event description, and link to download the presentation slides.

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LEDs are slated to become the new baseline in 2020, but are utilities ready? Join E Source for this industry-exclusive web conference where we’ll share trends on how the demand-side management (DSM) community plans to fill the savings gap.

Potential topics include:

• What role lighting will play in future programs
• Which programs and technologies hold the most promise to fill the savings gap
• What the portfolio of the future will look like
• How cost-effectiveness treatment will shift

Speakers:

Kate Merson, Director, Customer Energy Solutions, E Source

Andrea Salazar, Associate Director, Customer Energy Solutions, E Source

For more information about attending this event, please email us or call 1-800-ESOURCE (1-800-376-8723).

NOTE: This event has already taken place. See below for recording, event description, and link to download the presentation slides.

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During this web conference, we’ll reveal the results of the 2018 E Source Social Media Survey and hear from Sabrina Potirala, ComEd’s senior e-channel program manager, as she shares the unique strategies ComEd uses to reach its customers via social media. You won’t want to miss this opportunity to learn how utilities are achieving social media success.

Potential topics include:

• Social media team structures and budgets
• The most used social media channels
• Social media uses, goals, and challenges
• Types of posts that customers find most engaging

Speakers:

Heather Hilgenkamp, Senior Analyst, Market Research, E Source

Cory Coggins, Analyst, Market Research, E Source

Sabrina Potirala, Senior Program Manager, ComEd

For more information about attending this event, please email us or call 1-800-ESOURCE (1-800-376-8723).

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Join us for the E Source DSM Roundup—our biannual web conference that keeps you up-to-date on new and innovative demand-side management (DSM) programs, pilots, and strategies. Each year, we come across hundreds of innovative programs and pilots through our research and member interactions, and we showcase some of these programs—many of which are still in early stages, unproven, or untested—to spur creative thinking within the energy industry. We’ll tell you how these offerings are designed and what makes them innovative, providing you with ideas for meeting your DSM goals.

The latest crop of programs and pilots from across the US and Canada focus on making it easy for commercial customers to engage with their utilities through DSM programs, while producing deeper, more-diverse energy savings. Through a combination of unique ideas, partnerships, and program design, the utilities that develop these offerings have been able to stay ahead of the curve. This rapid-fire web conference will inspire you to think strategically about the design of your efficiency and demand-response programs.

Check out all past DSM Roundups and related resources in the Innovative DSM Programs Resource Center.

Speakers:

Ryan Odell, Analyst, Demand-Side Management, E Source

Jordan Tobey, Analyst, Demand-Side Management, E Source

Clare Valentine, Analyst, Demand-Side Management, E Source

Kevin Andrews, Senior Analyst, Demand-Side Management, E Source

Courtney Welch, Senior Analyst, Demand-Side Management, E Source

For more information about attending this event, please email us or call 1-800-ESOURCE (1-800-376-8723).​

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High-tech indoor farms are sprouting up all over North America, and these facilities bare little resemblance to traditional agriculture. Why would a company choose to spend more money and energy to grow plants inside instead of outside? How do these growers position themselves in the market, and what are their primary business drivers? During this web conference, we’ll explore the technical and financial implications of moving farms indoors, the benefits and challenges associated with modernized farming, and the types of programs and services these farmers value.

You’ll learn:

• How the indoor agriculture market is growing and evolving today
• The types of technologies and processes used in indoor agriculture facilities
• When, where, and how customers are using different controlled-environment techniques
• The energy-use and load-growth implications of indoor agriculture

Speakers:

Bryan Jungers, Lead Analyst, Technology Assessment, E Source

Derek Smith, Founder and Executive Director, Resource Innovation Institute

Andrew Blume, Director of Sales and Business Development, BlueHouse

For more information about attending this event, please email us or call 1-800-ESOURCE (1-800-376-8723).

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Potential topics include:

• Planned DSM spending in the US and Canada for 2018
• Portfolio shifts to accommodate a changing customer base and rising baselines
• Recent and upcoming regulatory changes in states and provinces
• Projected DSM spending trends through 2020

E Source has the most robust data set in the industry to determine the current state of the DSM market. Our thorough, careful projections and regulatory updates will help you anticipate what’s next for your business.

Speakers:

Rachel Buckley, Senior Director, Demand-Side Management, E Source

Kate Merson, Practice Director, Demand-Side Management, E Source

Courtney Welch, Lead Analyst, Demand-Side Management, E Source

For more information about attending this event, please email us or call 1-800-ESOURCE (1-800-376-8723).

NOTE: This event has already taken place. See below for recording, event description, and link to download the presentation slides.

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E Source recently partnered with Egg Strategy, a market consultancy, to deliver residential ethnographic market research to our E Design 2020 customers; through this research, we revealed significant conflicts between how utilities design their bills and the information customers want. Customers not only articulated frustrations with language (what’s a kilowatt-hour/therm?) but also voiced displeasure with the frequency and timing of usage feedback, the anxiety produced before opening a potentially high bill, and the disconnect between what they’re charged and the real value of their energy use. More often than not, customers had a negative perception of their utility.

E Source has transformed the typical bill redesign process to create a superior billing experience for customers. We’re looking for utilities that want to partner with us to redesign their bills using design thinking, ethnographic research, and voice of the employee.

Part 1: Educational (25 minutes)

During the first half of this web conference, we’ll reveal findings from our ethnographic research with real utility customers. We’ll cover:

• How utilities approach the bill redesign process today and why they fall short in customers’ minds
• Why explaining utility terminology is a fruitless exercise
• Some examples of what a radical bill redesign might look like
• How customer segmentation fits into the need for bill redesign

Part 2: Partner opportunities (20 minutes)

During the second half, we’ll describe the design-thinking project that we’re proposing. We’ll discuss:

• Conducting specific ethnographic research with the target customer group in your service territory
• Interviewing internal stakeholders to determine the broad array of wants and needs
• Synthesizing the research
• Holding internal utility workshops to go through the design-thinking process of observing, understanding, point of view, and ideation
• Creating prototypes using approaches such as design tetris, and conducting iterative rapid-feedback and design sessions with customers
• Finalizing designs for pilot and rollout

These projects can either be done on a pure consulting basis, or we can accommodate several utilities if they wish to pool their resources, research, or results together. E Source is willing to cost-share with the first utility that engages in a consulting project, as we want to demonstrate the value of this approach going forward.

Although used for decades in competitive technology companies, design thinking is relatively new in the energy industry. We’re not aware of any utility bill that has been redesigned using this approach. Instead of creating an easy-to-read, utility-oriented revenue bill, we focus on building a customer-centric engagement and experience tool that also collects revenue.

Speakers:

Bill LeBlanc, Chief Instigation Agent, E Source

Jeffrey Daigle, Associate Director, Customer Experience, E Source

For more information about attending this event, please email us or call 1-800-ESOURCE (1-800-376-8723).

NOTE: This event has already taken place. See below for recording, event description, and link to download the presentation slides.

Download web conference slides (PDF)

E Source and EnerTech Capital, the longest continuously operating venture investment manager with a focus on energy and power industries, have collaborated to bring a deeper and more-sophisticated level of access to the energy industry’s emerging innovators. To understand utility disruption and the resulting opportunities, it’s important to hear from the entrepreneurs themselves. For our Innovation Showcase web conference series, part of the E Source Utility Innovation Partnership Program, we’ll feature one industry innovator per event. Participants will learn about the entrepreneur’s technology as well as their market perspective, business strategy, and progress.

This month’s featured company is Virtual Peaker. The company works with utilities to help balance the grid, engage customers, and support growth through new revenue streams. Virtual Peaker runs a real-time control system in the cloud, allowing it to optimize and control any smart device to meet operational goals. Note: This web conference isn’t an E Source or EnerTech Capital endorsement of Virtual Peaker.

About the E Source Utility Innovation Showcase

We designed this web conference series to provide you with in-depth, structured presentations from privately owned companies with innovative products, services, and business models. We individually vet and select these companies based on their unique characteristics and market perspectives. Although not an endorsement, we believe these companies and their products could affect the energy industry and provide a window into new business models and new ways of thinking about utility opportunities.

Potential topics include:

• Company description
• Key management staff
• Problems the company solves
• Target market
• Competition
• Unique characteristics
• “Go to market” strategy
• Business model
• Technology or product roadmap and timeline

About the E Source Utility Innovation Partnership Program

This program provides utilities with specialized access to top-tier emerging market intelligence, energy venture deal flow, competitive market perspectives, and closed-door business conversations with some of the most experienced North American energy investors—all without having to make a long-term capital commitment. This partnership between E Source, one of North America’s most respected utility research and consulting firms, and EnerTech Capital introduces clients to new technologies, new business models, and new ways of thinking. Please reach out to Matthew Burks with any questions.

Speakers:

Matthew Burks, Chief Strategy Officer, E Source

Scott Ungerer, Founder and Managing Partner, EnerTech Capital

For more information about attending this event, please email us or call 1-800-ESOURCE (1-800-376-8723).