NB Power to pilot customer data analytics project

NB Power and SimpTek smart grid pilot deploys real-time energy monitoring hardware in New Brunswick homes, feeding a dashboard with anonymous home energy data and analytics to drive efficiency, demand response, and behavior change.

Fredericton, N.B. – SimpTek Technologies and NB Power are launching a pilot project that will see the Fredericton company provide real-time data analytics on residential energy use to NB Power on a limited trial basis. The pilot project will help SimpTek gain access to valuable insights and experience in the intelligent utility world.

NB Power will provide and install hardware capable of collecting real-time data with smart home devices in up to 150 homes. From there, customers will be able to use SimpTek’s online energy dashboard to instantly monitor their home energy use. SimpTek will use these first residences as an opportunity to gather data on daily energy habits within homes as part of a power study initiative, which will then be analyzed and supplied to NB Power. All homeowner data will be anonymous and confidential.

“We’re hoping that once people can actually see how much energy they are using in their homes, using smart technology solutions, they will alter their habits to save and reduce energy” says SimpTek CEO Asif Hasan. “We’ve been working for over a year to develop our product and look forward to seeing how New Brunswickers take advantage of this information to save money.”

The $15,000 agreement between NB Power and Fredericton-based SimpTek Technologies will be rolled out in the coming months as a pilot program with data being collected over a one-year period. With NB Power building a Smart Grid in New Brunswick through a smart grid research project initiative, innovative partnerships of this kind will help give the company valuable insights into consumer energy behaviours in New Brunswick.

“Helping customers understand and change their energy behaviours to save money is our goal right now and so we’re very pleased to support innovation in New Brunswick by partnering with a brilliant local start-up like SimpTek,” said Gaëtan Thomas, President and CEO of NB Power. “Building smart grid is about giving customers the tools to use energy differently, such as smart metering options, and that has the potential to save them money. For NB Power, it can lead to big savings in how we run our system by making it more efficient and allowing us to add more renewable energy while putting off costly investments in new generation.”

“NB Power’s vision to be a leader in this industry across North America is still only in its infancy, but the power and potential of their plans are incredible for this city and our province,” says Ignite Fredericton CEO Larry Shaw. “As early adopters, NB Power and Siemens, through Smart Grid research efforts, are paving the way for emerging start-up companies to develop new, innovative technologies right here. We look forward to more announcements in the future.”

The SimpTek Technologies team is comprised of University of New Brunswick students and graduates who went through the Technology Management and Entrepreneurship program and the International Business and Entrepreneurship Centre program at UNB Fredericton. They also participated in the Planet Hatch Launch Program and they are currently in the Build Program hosted by Propel ICT and Planet Hatch.

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