Uplight, the technology partner to energy providers transitioning to a decarbonized future, announced today it achieved record amounts of load shift and flexible capacity on behalf of its utility clients in 2023, and closed its previously announced acquisition of AutoGrid, the leading Virtual Power Plant (VPP) and Distributed Energy Resource Management System (DERMS) provider.
This milestone marks a year full of strategic growth and execution in helping Uplight’s utility partners along their decarbonization journeys. The company’s depth of expertise in engaging and enrolling energy customers into programs also resulted in record-setting device enrollments and significant industry recognition for its achievements.
The AutoGrid acquisition fundamentally expands Uplight’s partners, programs, and ability to create and manage flexible capacity for energy grids around the globe. The combination of these companies unites best-in-class customer experience with leading DERMS and flexible capacity capabilities. It also extends Uplight’s reach for 2024 and beyond, both geographically and into new focus areas, including VPPs, microgrids, and energy markets.
“From more and deeper customer engagement to landmark event capacity, our record-setting 2023 shows that Uplight’s work alongside our utility clients is critical to driving the energy transition forward,” said Luis D’Acosta, CEO of Uplight. “As thrilled as we were this year with our shared successes, this is just the beginning. With AutoGrid now a part of Uplight, we’ll accelerate that journey and reach new heights as a company, targeting everything from new markets to new business models.”
Driving More Flexible Capacity With Deep Customer Engagement
Uplight’s connected customer journey once again provided increased benefits to utilities, energy customers, and the grid alike. Uplight used its reach of more than 110 million homes and businesses, creating well over 300 million touchpoints and enabling significant client value:
- Increased purchase conversion: There was a 25% increase in product purchases through Uplight’s utility marketplaces when energy customers received an Uplight engagement product, such as a high bill alert or home energy report.
- Half-million devices sold: Uplight sold over 500,000 devices through its utility marketplaces, including smart thermostats, EV chargers, and even air purifiers, many at low or no cost to income-qualified customers through its offer center. EV charger sales also increased 88% during the key holiday selling period, including Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
- Increased program enrollment: With its marketplace device pre-enrollment solution, Uplight’s programs perform up to 5x better when compared to programs that rely on enrollment once the device is installed, often called “bring your own device” programs.
- Industry-leading customer satisfaction: Uplight’s marketplace net promoter score remained high at 69, besting leading consumer brands such as Netflix and Apple.
- Nearly 1 GW of load under management: This equates to the capacity needed to power the households in San Francisco, CA and Austin, TX combined. In addition, Uplight shifted over 110 MW—the equivalent of more than two 50 MW peaker plants—in a single day.
- Six-digit program proves potential at scale: Through the company’s work with utility partner PG&E, Uplight surpassed the milestone of 100,000 devices enrolled in its program, making it one of the largest programs in the country. In total, Uplight increased total devices under management by 81% and has surpassed 400,000 devices enrolled.
Recognized Leadership in the Industry and Beyond
Uplight’s comprehensive digital utility customer engagement suite continues to be highlighted as an effective driver of impact, leading to recognition in key industry assessments:
- Guidehouse Leader: Customer Engagement and Experience Analytics
- IDC Marketplace Leader: Worldwide Digital Customer Engagement Solutions for Utilities
Uplight’s larger goal of creating a more sustainable energy industry by putting the tools for decarbonization in the hands of the people is also gaining traction. In 2023, Uplight received the following awards:
- Guggenheim Partners’ “Efficient Frontiers” list
- 2023 Business Intelligence Sustainability Award Winner
In the broader market, Uplight continues to be able to attract and retain top talent by creating a compelling, inclusive, and innovative culture. These efforts were rewarded through being recognized on sought-after lists including:
Contributing to this culture, Uplight welcomed new faces to its leadership team: Hannah Bascom as Chief Market Innovation Officer and Shaila Lakhani Ohri as Senior Vice President and General Counsel.
With AutoGrid’s award winning platform and broad-reaching capabilities being added to Uplight’s portfolio, the opportunity to expand clean energy offerings, markets, and business models further enables the industry’s ability to rely on grid-connected assets to create and manage grid flexibility for a more sustainable future.
To learn more about how the combined solutions of Uplight and AutoGrid will be coming together to drive the energy transition, please visit www.uplight.com/uplight-acquires-autogrid.
Uplight is a leading clean energy software company accelerating decarbonization. The company’s best in class customer engagement, enrollment, and flexible capacity platform helps utilities and new energy companies participate in the clean energy ecosystem to make the grid more resilient, reduce energy costs, and positively impact communities. With Uplight’s AI-driven software, not only are grid-connected assets smarter, but power providers and new energy players can build, own, and operate Virtual Power Plants (VPPs), microgrids, and other resources to participate in intelligent and scalable energy capacity markets. To learn more about how Uplight, a certified B Corporation, creates world-class experiences for energy companies and customers alike, visit https://uplight.com/.