Better Meter Info Helps Co-op Lower Usage

Glenwood Springs-based electric cooperative Holy Cross Energy is focused on facilitating the adoption of distributed energy resources to assist in meeting its goal of supplying its members with 100% renewable electricity by 2030.

More recently, HCE was looking for an innovative solution to gather real-time data about its members’ electricity patterns to help study grid use and impact. Advanced metering infrastructure does a decent job delivering this information to the co-op, but HCE wanted grid insight that was nearer to real-time.

The co-op turned to Boulder-based Copper Labs, which offers a utility data solution that can deliver the information the co-op was seeking. With Copper, HCE evaluated members’ energy use and used the data to see how people’s electricity usage behavior changed when they saw real-time, personalized insights on the Copper app. HCE members who used Copper were twice as likely to reduce their energy use when prompted by the Copper app — this translated to lower peak time energy use, resulting in lower service costs for the member.