Natural gas utilities face multiple emerging challenges that require the deployment of innovative solutions—and a renewed focus on the customer—to meet. From decarbonization to non-pipe alternatives, energy equity, efficiency programs, customer experience, or system operations, Copper Labs’ data-driven platform helps gas utilities meet evolving needs (no matter what types of meters are currently in the field).
Supercharge your DSM and decarbonization initiatives
Copper’s high-resolution meter data can enable cost-effective behavioral energy efficiency, increase customer transparency, improve smart home device coordination, and support granular customer segmentation and targeting. In fact, Copper’s solution can even help gas utilities identify homes with inefficient heating systems that might be ideal candidates for efficiency improvements or strategic electrification through conversion to electric heat pumps or hybrid gas/electric heating systems. Plus, by combining near-real-time data with an intuitive yet powerful utility portal, Copper opens the door to uniquely effective behavioral load management and allows for precise measurement and verification (M&V) of new gas efficiency measures.
Boost energy equity
Copper’s solution enables utilities to better engage low- and moderate-income (LMI) customers by providing personalized insights into their gas use, tailored energy management suggestions, information on relevant rebate programs, and mid-cycle high bill alerts to help them better plan and manage their budgets. And by combining proven behavioral load management strategies with near-real-time data to support evaluation efforts, utilities can invite these customers to participate in gas demand response events and other DSM offerings even if they don’t have a smart thermostat or a working Wi-Fi network.
Deliver a top-tier customer experience
Copper’s high-resolution meter data and user-friendly mobile app allow utilities to offer customers specific and timely insights into how they’re using energy, deliver actionable tips on how best to manage their gas consumption, allow for personalized utility messaging, and open the door to mid-cycle billing alerts so customers can understand if they’re on track for a high energy bill.
Improve operations and planning
Copper’s solution can deliver more frequent, granular, and timely data than “smart” AMI meters, even when using existing drive-by AMR infrastructure. Using the insights we unlock, utilities can improve load forecasting, quantify potential impacts of policy-driven electrification, and better understand customer-level gas demand. Our unique approach to behavioral load flexibility can empower customers to help manage gas demand when it matters most. Compared with AMI metering, Copper can help utilities keep costs low while delivering expanded benefits by pairing our hardware with less-expensive—and, thanks to Copper, better-performing—AMR metering infrastructure.
Harnessing Real-Time Data To Keep The Heat On
In a first-of-its-kind behavioral gas demand response pilot, National Grid used Copper’s technology to engage customers and generate an 18% reduction in gas consumption over a 4-hour window during an extreme blizzard in New York. Even better, the near-real-time data leveraged in this pilot will enable National Grid to better understand customer usage patterns moving forward and improve its energy efficiency programing by identifying and targeting homes with inefficient heating equipment.