Taylor brings utility consulting experience and entrepreneurial savvy to new position leading E Source Solution Services

Boulder, CO, March 8, 2022—E Source, the data authority for the utility industry and enabler of The Sustainable Utility, is pleased to announce that it has hired Phillip Taylor as president of E Source Solution Services. In this newly created position, Taylor will use his decades of utility consulting and software implementation expertise to integrate, manage, and optimize the rapidly growing Solution Services division.

“Phillip Taylor is a proven leader and winner, and his experience is just right to help our growing roster of utility clients meet the tremendous opportunities ahead,” says Ted Schultz, CEO of E Source. “Well known and respected in the utility space and well versed in the key operational data systems of electric, natural gas, and water utilities, Phillip is adept at managing the life cycle of system selection, implementation, integration, change management, and continuous improvement that we see as crucial to unlocking the exponential value of data for today’s utilities.”

Taylor’s hiring comes at a pivotal time for the company and industry. E Source has grown rapidly over the past two years, expanding its capabilities by acquiring eight companies. Four of those companies—UtiliWorks, Excergy, Water Systems Optimization, and AAC Utility Partners—offered premier consulting services, establishing themselves as best in class. E Source has combined the collective strengths of those companies with the strengths of E Source Management Consulting to create a single Solution Services group tasked with guiding and accelerating utilities’ data-driven transformations. Under Taylor’s leadership, this team will offer solutions rooted in unsurpassed expertise with utility operational systems, industry-leading research, and predictive data science capabilities.

“I’m energized by E Source’s vision of The Sustainable Utility—one that’s committed to environmental responsibility, reliability, rethinking how to equitably serve all customers, and maintaining a bottom line that enables innovation, and supporting communities,” says Taylor. “I know from experience that services are often where ‘the rubber meets the road’ for utility clients, and I’m excited about the opportunity my team and I have to make data-driven transformation real for them. I can’t wait to get started!”

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Joint Action Agency to offer hosting services to help member utilities accelerate the adoption of smart grid capabilities

BURNABY, BC – March 1, 2022 – Tantalus Systems (TSX: GRID) (“Tantalus” or the “Company”), a smart grid technology company focused on helping build sustainable utilities, is pleased to announce a partnership with Kansas Municipal Energy Agency (“KMEA”) to offer purpose-built smart-grid solutions to its more than 80 member utilities throughout Kansas. As a Joint Action Agency, KMEA will provide hosting services to assist its members in digitally transforming their distribution grids. KMEA members will be able to license, access and use Tantalus’ software on KMEA’s hosted server.

The partnership enables members of KMEA to deploy the cost-effective Tantalus Utility Network (TUNet®) smart grid solution in a flexible manner relative to their needs and available resources. TUNet includes a comprehensive Industrial Internet of Things (“IIoT”) communications network, edge-computing endpoints, a suite of software applications and purpose-built data analytics designed to modernize the distribution grid.

By leveraging additional services from KMEA, member utilities will be able to reduce their upfront investment to digitize their grids while receiving immediate benefits from advanced metering infrastructure (“AMI”) and data analytics to improve the resiliency, reliability and efficiency of their systems. Three of KMEA’s members are initiating deployments of TUNet to solve immediate operational challenges such as remote disconnect and reconnect of power, outage management and broader automation while simultaneously laying the foundation for future innovation.

“In an effort to make smart grid investments accessible through shared services, this partnership provides all of our members with an equal opportunity to install an AMI system while reducing upfront expenditures for utilities,” said Paul Mahlberg, General Manager at KMEA. “We partnered with Tantalus because of their flexible approach in providing utilities with a range of deployment options that meet the specific needs of our member utilities, and we look forward to providing our membership with additional support through our hosted offering of Tantalus’ software applications.”

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EnergyHub adds Packetized Energy’s innovative advanced load shaping and grid management capabilities to EnergyHub’s Mercury DERMS and industry-leading DER ecosystem, enabling dynamic management of virtual power plants.

NEW YORK and VERMONT, March 1, 2022: EnergyHub, the industry-leading provider of distributed energy resource (DER) management solutions (DERMS), announced today that it acquired Packetized Energy, a leading developer of software systems that enable flexible grid services from DERs and provide utilities with deep insight into grid operations. As utilities set aggressive carbon reduction goals and coordinate increasing numbers of grid-edge devices within their systems, they require the next-generation of tools to flexibly manage DERs. Adding Packetized Energy’s technology to EnergyHub’s Mercury DERMS enables EnergyHub to provide more sophisticated DER control to utilities and power markets and to offer unprecedented visibility into distribution network operations. 

Packetized Energy’s Nimble® platform leverages state-of-the-art algorithms to maximize grid service value from DERs while simultaneously ensuring that customers get the energy they need, when they need it. The platform incorporates fleet-level predictive algorithms that enable load shaping in response to wholesale market signals, carbon prices, renewable availability, or distribution system needs. The Nimble platform also uses data from AMI, SCADA/EMS, micro PMUs, and network models to enable automatic DER response to rapidly changing grid conditions. 

“There is a clear trend in DER management toward delivery of grid services requiring more sophisticated load shapes and improved grid integration,” said Seth Frader-Thompson, EnergyHub’s President. “EnergyHub has an unmatched reputation for helping our clients build and manage large virtual power plants, and the acquisition of Packetized Energy accelerates our roadmap in managed charging, multi-DER optimization, and integration with distribution systems. We believe this combination will allow EnergyHub’s clients to be prepared to meet the grid service challenges of tomorrow.”

EnergyHub’s Mercury DERMS platform is the most widely deployed grid-edge DERMS in the industry, with over 60 utilities and power markets that aggregate and manage hundreds of thousands of thermostats, electric vehicles, water heaters, energy storage systems, inverters, and commercial & industrial sites as virtual power plants.

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Moore Strategic Investors and Emerson Ventures Invest in Scalable DER Software Solutions that Directly Address Climate Change

Louisville, KY – Virtual Peaker, a cloud-based SaaS company that empowers modern utilities with the friendliest distributed energy platform on the planet, has announced a $16.6 million investment to expand beyond its industry-leading distributed energy resource management systems (DERMS) platform that provides utilities with wraparound and scalable services—from event scheduling to enrollment to customer engagement—as well as strategic leadership in the fast-growing electric vehicle (EV) sector. The Series A funding round was led by Louis Bacon’s Moore Strategic Ventures (MSV), with participation from Emerson Ventures.

Virtual Peaker is already an international leader creating DERMS that help utilities seamlessly manage their distributed energy resources (DERs), including rooftop solar, wind, residential battery storage, and electric vehicles (EVs). As these renewable sources become more common, utilities are increasingly seeing the value of utilizing software that effectively manages and expands these DERs, and they’re looking for a partner with extensive experience building and scaling programs. Virtual Peaker is significantly expanding its platform to include Customer Engagement and Forecasting suites of products in addition to its DERMS suite.

The company’s suites-based approach allows utilities to customize and scale their software solutions to gain greater value from distributed energy resources. In addition to controlling devices, utilities can benefit from Virtual Peaker’s expertise in operating DER programs, including generating interest in programs, enrolling customers, keeping the customers engaged, paying incentives, and knowing when to schedule events. The electrification of the transportation sector represents a massive opportunity for utilities to leverage Virtual Peaker’s expertise and take the lead at the early stage of the EV adoption curve.

CLICK HERE to read the full press release.