California’s DR Emerging Technologies Collaborative Uses Smart Speakers to Interact with Residential Customers

August 2022

In 2021, Southern California Edison (SCE), San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) and Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) completed a coordinated trio of projects, under the “Demand Response Emerging Technologies (DRET) Collaborative,” effectively demonstrating that smart speakers offer a highly promising channel for utilities to reach residential customers and facilitate beneficial changes in the way they use energy. 

The three utilities each used “smart speakers” as a voice-activated gateway to create an intuitive interface between the smart speakers, the utility, in-home connected smart appliances, and the customer. The voice-activated assistant created a pathway for two-way instantaneous verbal communication between the utility and the customer about energy usage, outages, and alerts. It also made it possible for customers to manage their own smart devices at home to maximize energy savings without having to individually control or program each end use. 

Join us and our utility guest speakers to learn more about this award-winning initiative.

Speakers:
Moderated by PLMA Awards Co-Chair Kevin Knight of Baltimore Gas and Electric
Featuring: Jeff Barnes of San Diego Gas & Electric, Albert Chiu of Pacific Gas & Electric,
Mark Martinez of Southern California Edison, and Orly Hasidim of Universal Devices

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