Reliant has launched e-Sense smart energy solutions. This suite of new and existing tools, now packaged under the e-Sense brand name, gives Reliant Energy customers new insight into their electricity use and the power to make informed decisions that can save energy and money.
More than 175,000 Reliant customers are already using e-Sense. Those customers have detailed information about how they use electricity at home, timely insights about their power use and cost, and the ability to take action to change how they buy and use power.
Reliant’s e-Sense solutions are available today to the more than 2.4 million Texans with smart meters. The e-Sense products and services use information from the smart meters installed across Texas.
The newest product is e-Sense Online Account Management (OAM), available on reliant.com. e-Sense Online Account Management allows customers to view their electricity use in far greater detail. Customers can use OAM to see usage history by hour, week and year; then compare current usage trends to previous totals. It also gives customers a projected bill amount - before the bill even hits their mailboxes - and keeps tabs on usage by allowing customers to set a monthly budget. Customers can also stay informed with personal email alerts for usage, estimated costs and bill due date.
e-Sense Online Account Management builds on the information provided in the e-Sense Weekly Summary email by adding more in-depth analysis of the customer’s electricity use. The e-Sense Weekly Summary email provides usage information from the previous two weeks, an estimate of total charges for the billing period and energy efficiency tips.
“I love the Weekly Summary email,” said Kevin Robinson of Houston. “Getting the emails once a week really helps. It’s neat to be able to see my electricity use. It makes me more aware of how much I’m using and gives me the opportunity to manage my usage better. I know ahead of time - before my bill arrives - whether I need to cut back on usage. The information I get from the email encourages me work harder to try to keep my bill low.”
Online Account Management and the Weekly Summary email are available to Reliant customers with smart meters at no cost.
e-Sense also includes a Time-of-Use plan, a new choice for customers who can shift their usage to lower-priced, off-peak times, helping them save money. Under this plan, the cost of electricity changes during the day based on overall demand for power, allowing customers to benefit from making choices about when and how to use electricity. By shifting high-usage activities - like doing laundry or running the dishwasher - to lower-priced times, customers can reduce their cost.
Later this year, Reliant will begin offering customers the e-Sense Home Energy Monitor - a portable, wireless in-home display that will give customers real-time information about their electricity use and cost.
