OTTAWA, ON – June 9, 2011 – Energate, Inc., a provider of residential demand response for utilities and home energy management solutions for their customers, today announced the appointment of smart grid pioneer and utility industry veteran Louis Szablya to the position of vice president of marketing and utility solutions.
Reporting to Energate CEO Niraj Bhargava, Szablya will be responsible for developing and executing marketing strategies targeting utilities, strategic partners, service companies, and other energy related trade allies.
Szablya brings 30 years of electric industry experience to his new role at Energate. His expertise spans smart grid, power systems, resource planning, socially responsible energy, renewable energy, transmission, distribution and storage issues, rates, pricing, trading, marketing, and consumer participation. Prior to joining Energate, he was the director, smart grid integration at SAIC, a FORTUNE 500 scientific, engineering, and technology applications company.
“I am extremely excited to join the Energate management team and to contribute to the growth and success of Energate, which is well-positioned to leverage the trend toward intelligent, consumer-focused energy management,” Szablya said. “The company's product line has significant breadth and depth, and even more importantly, is proven in practice. This is a game-changing company and I look forward to helping the organization live up to its promise of connecting consumers with demand response and energy efficiency products and solutions while maintaining their comfort.”
Szablya started his career with Avista Corp. (NYSE: AVA), an energy company involved in the production, transmission and distribution of energy as well as other energy-related businesses, where he spent 15 years. He has also held executive marketing positions at companies focused on the smart grid and utility industry including GridPoint, Citigroup, El Paso Energy, Entergy and Dynegy.
“Louis' industry credentials are stellar, and he'll make an immediate impact in his new role heading Energate's marketing and utility solutions efforts,” said Bhargava. “Our company has quietly landed major utility customers and is working with many of the leading players in the utilities and the smart grid home area network (HAN) space, and we look forward to leveraging Louis' expertise to firmly establish Energate as the market leader for in-home energy management and demand response solutions.”
About Energate
Energate is a leading provider of residential demand response and home energy management solutions including software, wireless communications, gateways, smart thermostats, switches and consumer energy displays. Energate's Consumer Connected Demand Response (CCDR) solution allows utilities to immediately address residential energy demand and empowers consumers to more effectively manage their energy use. Energate products provide unprecedented interoperability that seamlessly connects the Smart Grid to consumers to deal with supply and demand challenges, the increased use of renewables and dynamic rate structures. Founded in 2004, Energate is headquartered in Ottawa with offices in Arizona, Toronto, Texas, and California. Visit www.energateinc.com.
