FirstFuel Unveils New Electrification and Clean Energy Capabilities

FirstFuel launches new capabilities to drive business customer energy
savings and utility load growth through strategic electrification and
distributed energy

LEXINGTON, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–FirstFuel
Software, the global leader in business customer engagement for the
energy industry, today announced a new capability designed to help
utilities understand and communicate to their business customers how
strategic electrification, combined with distributed energy resources
(DERs) and energy efficiency, can drive significant energy savings and
other benefits. FirstFuel has already signed agreements with two leading
North American utilities to help them offer more low-carbon energy
options to their business customers and achieve specific growth
objectives for these offerings. FirstFuel plans to expand its
functionality as more utilities look to harness the benefits of
electrification and DERs in 2018.

Electrification is the act of switching out fossil fuel-powered
equipment, such as an oil furnace or a propane forklift, for electric
alternatives. According to the Electric
Power Research Institute (EPRI), electrification could transform the
energy sector, increasing electric load by 52 percent while reducing
economy-wide carbon emissions by 67 percent. To capitalize on the
tremendous business opportunity that electrification presents – while
meeting mounting customer interest in more sustainable energy solutions
– utilities are increasingly exploring ways to engage customers with
electrification options.

FirstFuel’s new electrification capabilities include tools that give
business customers and their account managers a way to evaluate the
benefits of electrification opportunities alongside energy efficiency
measures and DERs. By enabling utilities to present these options to
customers, along with analysis of their value, FirstFuel helps
accelerate customers’ decision-making, and improves the outcomes from
utilities’ customer engagement.

FirstFuel’s analysis of its expansive business customer database
confirms what other potential studies are showing: that electrification
opportunities are significant. For example, in some business segments,
more than 55 percent of customers could benefit by converting to an
energy-saving heat pump, creating an annual utility load growth
opportunity of nearly 10% for each customer.

“Electrification has the potential to transform the energy industry,”
said Austin Whitman, VP of energy markets at FirstFuel. “For utility
business customers, it can improve equipment efficiencies and yield cost
savings of up to 30 percent. Done right, it can also drive cost savings
in the grid by altering when, how and where people use electricity.
Electrification can pay dividends through years of future carbon
reductions. We are seeing a sea change as utilities embrace
electrification programs to bring benefits to their customers and the
broader world.”

FirstFuel’s insights into customer needs, propensity to act and impact
on the grid help utilities engage customers and convert opportunities
more effectively. FirstFuel’s platform has helped double new project
conversion rates and reduced sales cycles by more than 50 percent.

About FirstFuel Software
FirstFuel Software is the global
leader in business customer engagement for utilities, using advanced
analytics to help more than 35 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 more than 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, Mass.
For more information about FirstFuel, please visit www.firstfuel.com
and follow us on Twitter @FirstFuelSW.

Contacts

Version 2.0 Communications for FirstFuel
Kristen Leathers,
617-426-2222
kleathers@v2comms.com