Organizations serve as role models in the development of smart grid consumer education programs

SAN DIEGO-Feb. 2, 2015 – The Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative (SGCC) announced today that Opower, Pepco Holdings Inc. and The Greenlining Institute win the 2015 CLEAR Awards, at the SGCC annual Consumer Symposium, for their excellence in customer outreach. The awards recognize one utility, one non-utility and one non-profit respectively, who serve as role models within SGCC and the industry, and in the development and implementation of consumer education programs.

"Opower, Pepco Holdings Inc. and The Greenlining Institute are doing outstanding work and we want to recognize and honor what they have accomplished," said SGCC Executive Director Patty Durand. "Additionally, these SGCC members are at the forefront of the industry by building innovative smart grid consumer education programs through a consumer-first mindset, which encourages collaboration and high engagement with consumers."

The selections were based on the following five behaviors and how the organizations made smart grid CLEAR to consumers:

Consumers first: Organization has demonstrated a true, consumer-centric approach in the development and implementation of consumer education and awareness programs;

Leadership: Organization has exhibited initiative in the area of consumer education and is recognized as a consumer advocate and thought leader in the industry;

Excellence: Organization has demonstrated innovation and imagination in the creation of consumer-facing initiatives and programs;

Authenticity: Organization has demonstrated a high level of integrity in engaging with consumers and other key stakeholders in the industry; and

Results: Organization has been able to demonstrate, in a quantifiable way, a direct impact on consumer awareness and behavior.

"We are honored to receive the Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative's CLEAR Award for our Points and Rewards product," said Alex Kinnier, SVP of Product at Opower. "This award reflects our commitment to educating and empowering consumers with information and tools to take control over their energy consumption, while improving the utility-customer experience."

"We are honored to receive this award and look forward to continuing to provide our customers with various options for taking control of their energy use, saving money, and creating a more sustainable lifestyle," said Karen Lefkowitz, vice president, Business Transformation, Pepco Holdings Inc. "By offering programs to help customers save energy and reduce costs, such as energy management programs and an AMI-enabled dynamic pricing program, we are able to personalize energy management efforts to meet our customers' needs."

"We are proud of this award, not because of what it says about us, but because it recognizes something important: That the benefits of clean energy must reach all our communities, regardless of race, ethnicity, ZIP code or income." –Stephanie Chen, Energy and Telecommunications Policy Director

About Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative:
Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative (SGCC), is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with the mission of accelerating the adoption of a consumer-friendly, consumer-safe and consumer-approved smart grid. Membership is open to advocacy groups, technology vendors, research laboratories and electric utilities for collaboration in research, best practices and consumer education.

About Opower:
Opower is a technology company that combines behavioral science, data management, and insightful analytics to transform the way utilities relate to their customers. Opower's software has been deployed to more than 95 utility partners around the world, and reaches more than 50 million households and businesses. Opower's technology platform analyzes more than 380 billion meter reads to deliver its services, and has created enough energy savings through behavior change to power all the homes in a city of 1.25 million people for a year. Founded in 2007 and listed on the NYSE as OPWR, Opower is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, with offices in San Francisco, London, Singapore and Tokyo. For more information, please visit www.opower.com and follow us on Twitter at @Opower.

About Pepco Holdings, Inc.:
Pepco Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: POM) is one of the largest energy delivery companies in the Mid-Atlantic region, serving about 2 million customers in Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland and New Jersey. PHI subsidiaries Pepco, Delmarva Power and Atlantic City Electric provide regulated electricity service; Delmarva Power also provides natural gas service. Through Pepco Energy Services, PHI also provides energy savings performance contracting services, underground transmission and distribution construction and maintenance services, and steam and chilled water under long-term contracts.

About The Greenlining Institute:
The Greenlining Institute works to bring the American Dream within reach of all, regardless of race or the zip code one is born into. In a nation where people of color will make up the majority of our population by 2040, we believe that America will prosper only if communities of color prosper. For more information, please visit www.greenlining.org.