MidAmerican Selects Nexant to Develop Energy Efficiency Management System

MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co. has chosen Nexant, Inc. to develop and install a new integrated energy efficiency management information system at two of its utility subsidiaries, MidAmerican Energy Co. and PacifiCorp. The new system will be developed using TrakSmart, Nexant's proprietary web-based enrollment, database, and project tracking tool for energy efficiency and demand-side incentive program management.

MidAmerican Energy Company is Iowa's largest utility, serving over 720,000 electric customers and 702,000 natural gas customers. Currently, it has 20 energy efficiency and two load management programs. Through its EnergyAdvantage programs, the company offers energy efficiency initiatives to both residential and business customers in Iowa.

PacifiCorp serves over 1.6 million customers through Pacific Power (Washington, Oregon, and California) and Rocky Mountain Power (Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming). Overall, PacifiCorp currently offers approximately 28 conservation and two load management programs. Examples include Energy FinAnswer, FinAnswer Express, Energy Exchange, and Home Energy Savings.

Given the potential growth and popularity of energy efficiency initiatives, MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company anticipates that managing data and tracking activities will become increasingly complex, and has asked Nexant to develop and install an integrated, state-of-the-art system that can be adapted to future program requirements across both companies.

For program participants, TrakSmart provides the ease and convenience of online application, data submittal, and status checking. For program managers and administrators, TrakSmart offers comprehensive status tracking, approval, and reporting capabilities. An important feature that will be added to TrakSmart as part of this project is program configurability, which allows utilities to easily set up new energy efficiency programs, including measures and incentive algorithms, without software changes. This major enhancement will make TrakSmart highly attractive to energy efficiency and demand-side incentive programs across the United States.