That led us to consider new approaches to managing HVAC units, which led us to EnergyHub.ĮH: How did you partner with EnergyHub to design a solution that would achieve your goals?īH: The program we developed with EnergyHub, called Smart Savers, helped us continue to offer participation in DR programs to our members who had upgraded their HVAC systems or were new members who wanted to get involved but weren’t interested in a switch. We were losing 1,000 or more participants – members who loved the program and wanted to continue to participate – but simply due to new technology and incompatibility, they could not. In recent years, when we’d do maintenance on members’ units, more and more were upgrading to a new unit that was incompatible with our existing switch. It was, and continues to be, an important part of our commitment to offer incentive programs to our members and we have over 44,000 switches installed. Back then we even had switches on electric water heaters. From rebates for improvements like programmable thermostats, HVAC tune-ups, and attic insulation to incentives for participation in DR, we need every tool we can add to our belt.ĮH: What led you to consider working with a DR vendor, and what problems were you trying to solve? I understand you’ve had a switch-based program for many years.īH: We’ve had a switch-based load management program since before I started with the company nearly three decades ago. I’ve been with Sawnee EMC for 26 years, and I learned that energy efficiency, conservation, and demand response were a major part of part of our philosophy since my first day on the job. The less peak demand we have on our system, the lower our power cost will be, and we can pass those savings along to our members and help keep future power costs down. We sat down with Blake House, Vice President of Member Services at Sawnee EMC to learn more about the role DR plays in their strategy and how they’re continuing to evolve their program nearly three decades into their journey.ĮnergyHub (EH): How does demand response fit into Sawnee’s mission to serve members’ changing energy needs?īlake House (BH): We strive to be a trusted energy partner for our members, and scaling demand response is a smart financial decision for everyone involved. Beginning with a switch program more than 30 years ago, Sawnee has long recognized the value of demand response (DR) when it comes to controlling prices and delivering a stable power supply for their members. Georgia-based Sawnee EMC was founded as an electric cooperative in 1938 and has been innovating at the grid-edge for longer than most.