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TORONTO /CNW/ - In addition to getting your
horoscope, local weather, and news headlines, customers may soon
be able to view their electricity usage on their iGoogle
homepage.
Toronto Hydro-Electric System ("Toronto Hydro") is the first
Canadian utility to partner with Google to test Google
PowerMeter. Based on the results of the pilot, Toronto Hydro may
make Google PowerMeter available to all its customers.
Toronto Hydro launched Time-of-Use rates to the first 10,000
customers last week. To fully take advantage of lower
electricity rates, customers should shift their energy use to
off-peak times like weekends or evenings after 10pm when
electricity is only 4.2 cents per kilowatt hour. Having
information readily available can help customers quickly
identify how much electricity they are using at specific times
of the day.
When ready, Google PowerMeter will complement the tools already
available to many customers. It will provide Toronto Hydro with
another channel to intuitively educate customers on how to
monitor their electricity use and look for ways to shift their
use to off-peak times. For example, customers will see their
electricity usage at a glance on their iGoogle home page. If
they want more detailed information, like how much electricity
they are using on-peak, they can click through to the Toronto
Hydro website at www.torontohydro.com/tou
Toronto Hydro has more than 611,000 smart meters installed
across the city of Toronto. Google PowerMeter will receive
information from selected smart meters and provide users with a
snapshot of their electricity consumption.
QUOTES
"Toronto Hydro continues to look for ways to help our
customers conserve electricity. So far, we have been very successful at
launching and driving participation through our conservations programs."
"What makes this pilot project unique is that we’re empowering
customers to see when and how much electricity they use and make
decisions on how to change their own behaviour."
- David O’Brien, President and CEO, Toronto Hydro Corporation
FACTS
- Google PowerMeter is a Google gadget that can show consumers
their personal electricity consumption on their personal
computer via their iGoogle home page.
- This pilot is limited to select group of customers and will
last a few months. If successful, Toronto Hydro and Google will
then offer the PowerMeter to all Toronto Hydro customers.
- In addition to using less electricity during peak times,
customers will likely use less electricity in total. Studies
show that providing access to a household’s personal energy
information is likely to result in savings between 5 to 15 per
cent on a monthly bill. (Source: Google)
ATTACHMENTS and SOURCES
High resolution screen shot of Google PowerMeter gadget
www.torontohydro.com/tou
www.google.org/powermeter/howitworks.html
http://files.newswire.ca/236/Google-PowerMeter.JPG
For further information: Tanya Bruckmueller,
W:
(416)542-2621, C: (416)903-0440,
(tbruckmueller-wilson@torontohydro.com)
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