Verizon Wireless' Reliable 3G Network Enables Smart Energy Solution From Consert

BASKING RIDGE, NJ, RALEIGH, NC, and SAN DIEGO, CA — From the CTIA 2011 show, Verizon Wireless and Consert Inc. today announced a complete energy management turnkey solution for utility customers that runs on the nation’s largest and most reliable 3G wireless network. The Consert Energy Management Solution enables utilities to create and load resources for peak and intermediate periods, improve demand forecasting, facilitate compliance with federal and state standards, automate meter reading and improve communications with end users. The result is lower capital and operating expenditures as well as increased operational efficiency.

The comprehensive, integrated energy management solution from Consert runs on the Verizon Wireless network and is comprised of four main components:

• Creation of a Smart Residence or Small Commercial entity – Intelligent measurement and control devices are installed on energy-consuming devices, such as HVACs, water heaters and commercial signage, which wirelessly connects to the Consert Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO)-based cellular Gateway, the local processing and communications hub.
• Consumer Portal – A secure online portal allows residential and small business customers to create dynamic profiles to manage their daily, weekly or monthly energy consumption to accommodate their comfort levels and lifestyle needs to save energy and the environment.
• Utility Portal – A customizable online portal enables utilities to view customer energy consumption information in real time, conduct control events to shed load or aggregate renewables and gain access to additional capacity through Consert’s Virtual Peak Plant™.
• Verizon Wireless Network – Machine-to-machine communications are enabled and managed through the Verizon Wireless network.

“The utilities sector is leading the charge in the implementation of advanced wireless technologies by leveraging smart energy solutions such as the Consert Energy Management Solution running on Verizon Wireless’ network,” said Michael Brander, vice president, utility and industrial vertical markets, Verizon Wireless. “Smart energy solutions cut costs not only for the utility companies, but also for consumers throughout the country who are looking to consume less for financial and environmental benefits.”

“Wireless connectivity is the backbone of the Consert Energy Management Solution,” said Jack Roberts, president and chief executive officer of Consert. “The ability to securely aggregate and transport data in real time from consumers to our Consert Data Center for access by our utility partners is a key point of differentiation between our offerings and those of other smart grid service providers.”

Verizon Wireless and Consert completed two pilots with North Carolina-based Fayetteville Public Works Commission (FPWC) and Wake Electric Membership Corporation (WEMC) trialing Consert’s Energy Management Solution. WEMC pilot participants perceived energy savings ranging from 7 to 54 percent, with an average savings of 19 percent.

“Through our Consert smart grid pilot, we were able to provide our members with a home energy monitor, accurately measure and verify energy savings and collect valuable data to create a more efficient grid, ” said WEMC Manager of Engineering Don Bowman. Due to the success of both pilots, FPWC and WEMC are finalizing plans to extend the Consert solution throughout their service areas.

Verizon Wireless and Consert are working together to future-proof the solution and are developing an option that will work on Verizon Wireless’ recently launched 4G LTE wireless network.

Verizon offers wireless and wireline products and services that provide enterprise and government customers in a variety of industries with the networking capabilities they require to keep their organizations running at top speeds today and in the future.

Verizon Wireless and its Business Solutions Alliance provide leading wireless solutions to meet the challenges of the electrical utilities industry. Smart metering, distribution grid management and demand response applications backed by the Verizon Wireless network make smart grid solutions a reality for the utilities industry.

For more information, go to www.verizonwireless.com/utilities.

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation’s fastest and most advanced 4G network and largest and most reliable 3G network, and serves more than 94 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 82,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE, NASDAQ: VZ) and Vodafone (LSE, NASDAQ: VOD). For more information, visit www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.

About Consert
Headquartered in Raleigh, N.C., Consert Inc. is a leader in the design and implementation of intelligent distributed energy resource management systems. Delivering a complete energy management and conservation ecosystem, Consert demonstrates that intelligent energy management provides the most reliable, flexible and economical source of green energy. The Consert Energy Management Solution is a software-as-a-service system that empowers consumers to monitor and reduce their energy consumption helping them to save money and the environment, while granting utilities permission to adjust consumer loads and obtain real-time data. This data collection helps utilities improve reliability, add valuable new services and reduce capacity constraints and operating costs to preserve and enhance cash flow. A demonstration of the application as used by a residential consumer can be viewed at http://bit.ly/ConsertAtHome. For more information, visit www.Consert.com.

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