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SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – After seeing the potential for customers to save energy and money by downloading personal energy data through its Green Button service, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is supporting further industry innovation by sponsoring a nationwide search for the best Green Button energy apps.
The Apps for Energy contest is a partnership with the White House, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and U.S. technology firms.
The developer finalists who create the winning apps for phones and computers will take home part of a $100,000 cash prize from sponsors PG&E, Itron and the DOE, as well as national bragging rights.
“Green Button will arm millions of Americans with information they can use to lower their energy bills,” said Nancy Sutley, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality. “Innovative tools like these are good for our economy, good for the health of our communities, and an essential part of our approach toward a secure and clean energy future that works for Americans.”
PG&E launched the Green Button in December 2011, responding to a challenge from the White House to design a standard format for customers with SmartMeters to download their energy use data online.
The Green Button aims to promote personal energy awareness and development of phone and computer apps to aid customers in making informed decisions about their energy use and help them save money on their monthly energy statement.
To date, there have been about 220,000 Green Button downloads.
“There is incredible power and potential in providing our customers with new visibility into their energy use, with information that's clear accurate, timely, and easy to use,” said Tony Earley, PG&E Corp.’s chairman, CEO and president. “Today's announcement shows PG&E’s commitment to stimulating growth and innovation in the developer community. When it comes to energy management, we are driven to help transform the way our customers manage energy in their home.”
The DOE has long supported energy innovation, driving a nationwide push for more renewable energy sources and encouraging every American to become more engaged with how they use energy.
“Providing consumers with easy access to data on their energy consumption can help give them the tools they need to make informed decisions about their energy use,” U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu has said. “Developing applications and services to help consumers understand and control their energy use is a field ripe for American innovation.”
App developers will be able to participate by registering at www.challenge.gov and submitting a description, video, photos and a link to their app.
The Web site www.energy.gov/developer will be the main resource page for developers. Both sites will go live April 5.
Until then, the public can submit ideas for energy apps at www.energy.gov . The winner is planned to be announced in May.
PG&E customers with an electric SmartMeter and a My Energy account can log on at www.pge.com/myenergy , click on the Green Button icon, and download up to 13 months of their hourly electric usage data.
About half of the utility’s electric customers – or 2.3 million – are registered with My Energy.
Green Button is one of many energy- and cost-saving benefits available to PG&E customers with a SmartMeter. Other benefits include:
- Hourly electric and daily gas usage data charts via a secure PG&E Web site;
- Energy Alerts to notify customers when they're approaching a higher-priced electric tier and to encourage a change in their energy use;
- Outage detection to help PG&E quickly restore service;
- Remote service connection as a convenience for customers;
- Special time-varying rate programs like SmartRate;
- Enabling in-home energy management devices that display the energy usage of appliances.
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Mike Thompson (CA-1) on Wednesday co-sponsored H.R. 14, an infrastructure jobs bill identical to the infrastructure legislation passed last week by the Senate by a bipartisan vote 74-22.
The bill would fund transportation and infrastructure projects for two years, and is estimated by the U.S. Department of Transportation to create 177,500 in California alone.
“The political games need to stop, and we need to pass a long-term transportation plan that puts folks back to work rebuilding or roads, highways and bridges,” said Thompson. “Seventy seven U.S. Senators from both sides of the aisle have come together and passed a bill that will create or save more than two million jobs across our nation. The American people need the House to do the same, and I urge the House Majority to bring the bipartisan Senate bill up for a vote, and for the House to send this jobs bill to the President to be signed into law.”
The House Majority has twice refused to pass long-term transportation legislation, instead passing short-term extensions.
The long-term authorization proposed by the House Majority in February contained many politically-driven and unrelated policy riders that prevented the bill from being passed.
For example, the bill halted funding for high-speed passenger rail projects; opened the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska for oil drilling; ended competitive grant funding for road improvements, port upgrades, bridge maintenance and light rail; defunded bike and pedestrian projects; and ended funding that is used to build safer routes to schools.
Former Republican Congressman and current Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood called the long-term House bill introduced in February the most partisan and worst transportation bill in decades.
In the past, long-term transportation legislation has traditional received strong bi-partisan support. The last long-term transportation bill passed the House in 2005 by a vote of 412-8. Federal funding for transportation projects will run out on April 1st, 2012 if not legislation is passed.
“We have an opportunity to work across the aisle and pass a bill that is good for our economy and improves out national infrastructure,” Thompson continued. “The clock is ticking – we need to quit playing politics and pass this bill that puts people back to work.”
Congressman Mike Thompson represents California’s First Congressional District, which includes the Counties of Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, Sonoma, Napa, and Yolo.
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