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7/12/2007
APOGEE Interactive’s HomeEnergySuite™ Garners Spotlight on Excellence Award for Plumas-Sierra Rural Electric
APOGEE Interactive Inc., a leader in strategic online solutions for the energy industry, today announced that its HomeEnergySuite™ has received national honors for Plumas-Sierra Rural Electric Cooperative.
Based in Portola, Calif., Plumas-Sierra REC introduced the APOGEE HomeEnergySuite to its members in February 2006. The HomeEnergySuite is a package of internet applications and energy content that includes the Apogee HomeEnergyCalculator™, Kids Korner, Fundamentals of Electricity content, energy tips, HomeEnergyLibrary™, lighting calculator and home appliance calculator.
The Spotlight on Excellence Awards Program of the Council of Rural Electric Communicators honored Plumas-Sierra REC for Best Application of Electronic Communication in May at Connect 2007, a national conference in Miami, Fla., held jointly by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association and Touchstone Energy® Cooperatives.
"We had this really effective tool and wanted to show it off," said Jessica Nelson, energy services manager for Plumas-Sierra REC. "The Spotlight on Excellence Award validates our pursuit of this web-based suite and shows our members that we're trying to help them not only to conserve energy but to understand their energy use and better manage their electric bills."
More than 190 utilities across the United States use HomeEnergySuite, according to Tom DuBos, APOGEE business development manager. "It's been around for about six years and evolves over time to better serve our customers," he said. "We'll keep improving our applications to keep our customers on the cutting edge of what is possible."
Plumas-Sierra REC invested in HomeEnergySuite primarily to promote their ground-source heat pump program. "This tool enables the co-op to estimate program economics for their members, helping them easily predict what the savings would be if the switch is made to this more efficient technology," said DuBos. "It serves as a marketing tool for the cooperative to advance their program while teaching their members about energy efficiency."
Nelson said the versatile APOGEE program has been a welcome addition to the Plumas-Sierra website,(www.psrec.coop). "It shows members the value of the ground-source heat pump program, which is a strong program at our cooperative, where we offer zero percent loans towards purchase of a geothermal heat pump," said Nelson. "It's often hard to sell something with a high upfront cost, but if you can show consumers the savings they'll see on their electric bill, it makes it easier to sell -- and that's where APOGEE's HomeEnergySuite comes in."
Other components of the suite have been helpful as well, according to Nelson. "It's definitely taken a load off the employees who are able to refer members to the HomeEnergyCalculator and other tools rather than going to homes to do physical energy audits," she said. "This allows members to troubleshoot on their own and saves the co-op time and money."
"The Spotlight on Excellence Award confirms our belief in the HomeEnergySuite as a great customer communications tool," said DuBos. "Regardless of your specific objective, this is a way to engage your customers, promote energy efficiency programs, and give consumers a valuable tool."
Plumas-Sierra Rural Electric Cooperative has been reliably delivering electric power to members in Plumas, Sierra, and Lassen Counties in California, and Washoe County, Nevada, since 1937. Plumas-Sierra takes pride in being an innovative provider of fair-priced services to customers. PSREC is an active member of the community and is dedicated to improving the quality of life of its member-owners and local communities.
APOGEE Interactive, Inc. (www.apogee.net) is a leading provider of online solutions for the energy industry. Headquartered in Atlanta, APOGEE has helped pioneer interactive media and online applications at more than 300 utilities nationwide since 1994. Today, APOGEE's Web-based energy efficiency, energy education and energy management content and tools reach millions of energy consumers daily. The company's clients include a wide range of investor-owned, municipal and cooperative utilities such as American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP), Entergy (NYSE: ETR), FPL (NYSE: FPL), TVA, LCEC and Jackson EMC. The company also provides eLearning systems, call center programs and demand response platforms to utilities and their trade associations.
