FirstFuel Closes Q2 with Major New Utility Customers as it Expands Share of Global Utility Market

Company also receives strategic investment from Energy Impact Partners

LEXINGTON, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–FirstFuel
Software, the global leader in business customer engagement for the
energy industry, announced today that it has experienced continued
growth in 2017, increasing its customer roster to 30 utilities in North
America and Europe while successfully posting strong results with
utilities and energy providers that have rolled out its cloud-based
platform this year.

FirstFuel's cloud-based platform, which provides web and mobile tools
that enable utilities to deliver personalized insights directly to
business customers, is foundational to four of the company's most recent
wins, including:

• FirstEnergy, one of the largest investor-owned electric systems
  in the U.S., is leveraging FirstFuel’s platform to deliver an enhanced
  digital experience by providing customers with easy access to their
  energy consumption data, enabling easier bill comparison and
  communications about new services.
• Alliant, a Wisconsin-based public utility holding company, is
  partnering with FirstFuel to maximize its investment in Advanced
  Metering Infrastructure (AMI) and drive participation in efficiency
  programs through digitally-enabled efficiency recommendations.

• PEPCO, a public utility owned by Exelon, is using FirstFuel to
  enhance the digital customer experience for business customers by
  equipping account teams with data analytics under an organization-wide
  business intelligence initiative.
• National Grid, an investor-owned utility servicing territories
  in Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island, is using FirstFuel’s
  platform to empower account teams with customer intelligence to
  improve business customer segmentation, targeting and engagement.

“The utility landscape is rapidly changing, with new energy options
emerging that trigger more customer questions,” said David Moreira,
Director of Commercial Sales at National Grid. “We’re leveraging
customer insights to enable our sales teams to deliver improved customer
service and build better relationships. We can now more efficiently
pinpoint which products and services are best suited to serve our
customers’ needs, based on their energy use, location and specific
business activities.”

In addition to adding new utility customers to its roster, FirstFuel
continues to expand relationships with existing customers, including
Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), Washington Gas Energy Services (WGL),
Exelon and Con Edison. Baltimore Gas and Electric, another FirstFuel
customer, recently received “Best
Analytics Project” at CS Week 2017 for its “Building Tune Up”
Program, which utilizes customer intelligence to engage business
customers in retro-commissioning projects. The program has identified
49,000 MWh in energy savings, increased retro-commissioning project
applications by 60 percent and delivered 4.5 / 5.0 customer satisfaction
scores.

FirstFuel also announced that Energy Impact Partners (EIP), an
investment firm that focuses on companies driving value for utilities,
has become a strategic investor. EIP’s investment will enable FirstFuel
to continue to expand its customer portfolio and platform technology.
EIP’s limited partners comprise more than a dozen global utilities,
including Southern Company, National Grid, Xcel Energy, Ameren, Great
Plains Energy, Fortis Inc., AGL, Avista and others.

“At EIP, we are focused on bringing a collaborative approach to energy
innovation by investing in and partnering with companies that are
shaping the energy landscape of the future,” said Hans Kobler, CEO and
Managing Partner at Energy Impact Partners. “Business customer
engagement is an area of critical importance for utilities as they
become more customer-centric and deliver more tailored solutions.
FirstFuel’s platform is leading the way in helping utilities leverage
customer intelligence to provide strategic insights, drive new revenue
streams and build better relationships.”

“The demand for our SaaS business customer engagement platform has grown
immensely in the past year as utilities recognize that building better
customer relationships is critical to their long-term success,” said
Swapnil Shah, CEO, FirstFuel Software. “Businesses represent 60 percent
of utility revenues, and we’re helping utilities understand those
customers to deliver an improved experience across all communication
channels.”

About FirstFuel Software
FirstFuel Software is the global
leader in business customer engagement for utilities, using advanced
analytics to help 30 energy providers in North America and Europe
improve business customer satisfaction, drive sales and revenue, and
reduce service costs. Combining data science, building science, and
software, our business customer engagement platform derives intelligence
from over 4 million meters, transforming energy providers into trusted
advisers to their business customers. Our SaaS solutions deliver
accurate, insightful, and cost-effective results at scale. Founded in
2010 and privately held, FirstFuel is headquartered in Lexington, MA.
For more information about FirstFuel, please visit www.firstfuel.com
and follow us on Twitter @FirstFuelSW.

About Energy Impact Partners
Energy Impact Partners is a
collaborative strategic investment firm that invests in companies
optimizing energy consumption and improving sustainable energy
generation. Through close collaboration with its strategic investor
base, EIP seeks to bring the best companies, buying power and vision in
the industry to bear on the emerging energy landscape. EIP's utility
partners include Southern Company, National Grid, Xcel Energy, Ameren,
Great Plains Energy, Fortis Inc., AGL, Avista, MGE Energy Inc., TEPCO,
PTT Public Company Limited, OGE Energy Corp. and TransCanada. For more
information, visit www.energyimpactpartners.com.

Contacts

Version 2.0 Communications for FirstFuel
Kristen Leathers,
617-426-2222
[email protected]