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Google, CPower, CSG and CSE Join Demand Response and Smart Grid Coalition

November 18, 2008 by Jeff Shepard

The Demand Response and Advanced Metering Coalition (DRAM) announced that four companies have been added to its membership roster. It also announced that its Board of Directors has approved a name change for the organization. The new name for the trade association is the Demand Response and Smart Grid Coalition (DRSG).

Chris King, Chief Strategy Officer of DRSG Member eMeter and one of the founders of the organization, noted that the name change was something that made sense for the organization. "Our new name – the DRSG Coalition – reflects the growth in diversity of our organization’s members and the breadth of smart grid products and services that they provide," King said. "DRSG will continue to work to educate and provide information to policymakers, utilities, the media, the financial community and stakeholders on how demand response and smart grid technologies such as smart meters can help modernize our electricity system and provide customers with new information and options for managing their electricity use. Our members are the ones that will be providing the foundational elements with which the smart grid will be created."

Rick Counihan, Vice President for Regulatory Affairs for DRSG Member EnerNOC and Co-Chair of the DRSG Membership Committee, welcomed the new members of the organization – Google, CPower, Conservation Services Group and Corporate Systems Engineering. "We are pleased to have these four key companies come aboard. They both diversify and strengthen our group and demonstrate the explosive growth of our industry and increased demand for demand response and smart grid goods and services."

Through its philanthropic arm, Google.org, and in collaboration with partners, Google invests resources in the areas of energy and climate change, economic development and emerging disease. Google.org employs a range of approaches to achieve its goals, such as awarding grants, investing in for-profit endeavors, and advancing public policy.

CPower, formerly known as ConsumerPowerline, states that it delivers targeted energy management services and solutions that enable companies to optimize their facilities and operations through strategic energy reduction initiatives and earn market payments for those reductions. Through its advocacy for energy users, and partnerships with utilities and grid operators, CPower works to design and manage programs that maximize the rewards for energy reductions and provide reliable relief to grid operators.

Conservation Services Group (CSG) states that it is an energy services company that since 1984 has been providing energy-saving strategies, products, services and technologies to consumers and businesses nationwide. CSG aims to protect the environment by reducing demand on natural resources and minimizing the harmful impact of electric power generation; to make homes and buildings safer, healthier, more comfortable, more durable, and more affordable to operate; and to encourage the wise use of energy in order to contribute to building a more effective and efficient economy.

Corporate Systems Engineering, LLC (CSE) states that it has been a pioneer of energy management solutions for electric utilities since 1982. The company is one of the largest providers of load control switches in the US and is actively engaged in the development of emerging smart metering technology. The mission of CSE is to provide products and solutions that enable utilities and their customers to effectively and proactively implement load control, demand response and other energy management techniques as essential elements of Smart Grid/Smart Home technologies.

Ben Boyd, Vice President of DRSG Member Aclara and Co-Chair of the DRSG Membership Committee, encouraged other companies to consider becoming a member of DRSG. "This is a time of great opportunity for our industry given that policymakers are aware of the ability of demand response and smart grid technologies like smart meters to create ’green jobs’ and address many of the other challenges facing our country," said Boyd. "We call upon others to join our educational and outreach efforts."

The Demand Response and Smart Grid Coalition (DRSG) is the trade association for companies that provide products and services in the areas of demand response, smart meters and smart grid technologies. DRSG works to educate and provide information to policymakers, utilities, the media, the financial community and stakeholders on how demand response and smart grid technologies such as smart meters can help modernize our electricity system and provide customers with new information and options for managing their electricity use. DRSG is the new name for the Demand Response and Advanced Metering Coalition (DRAM) which was founded in 2001. The new name was adopted to reflect the growth in diversity of the organization’s members and the breadth of smart grid products and services that they provide.