News

Buildy Award Winner!

On May 22, 2008 at the Connectivity Week conference in Santa Clara, CA, Akuacom was awarded the Buildy Award for "Automated Demand Response (DR) Implementation". The award was presented to “the company that has used smart device connectivity technologies to implement the best automated DR project."

Akuacom was given the award for its involvement in the Automated Demand Response (Auto-DR) programs in California which are a collaborative effort between Akuacom, the Demand Response Research Center (DRRC), Global Energy Partners (GEP), and the California Investor Owned Utilities (IOUs).

In 2007, Akuacom used its Demand Response Automation Server (DRAS) to enable the Auto-DR Programs at all three IOUs. The DRAS enables end-to-end automation to a wide range of DR programs. Currently in California, the DRAS is hosting Critical Peak Pricing (CPP), Demand Bid (DBP), and Capacity Bidding (CBP), with more programs scheduled for 2008. Statewide, over 25 megawatts (“negawatts”) of schedulable load was managed by the DRAS in 2007.

The DRAS was designed in conjunction with the Demand Response Research Center (DRRC) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and is based upon research funded through the Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) Program at the California Energy Commission.