Control4 recognized a common concern among utility industry partners, customers, and smart grid participants: The industry wasn’t equipped to understand and support consumer reactions to the technology. In response, we worked to bring together industry leaders from across the smart grid ecosystem to tackle the issue. Consumer electronics and technology companies, smart grid companies, retailers, consumer advocacy groups, and utilities answered the call and joined forces to form the Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative (SGCC) in March, 2010.
The SGCC will work to understand consumer needs and preferences, reach out to build awareness and educate consumers about the benefits of the smart grid, and develop best practices regarding messaging and outreach for the industry as a whole. The broad representation of the group, and the support its has gained from established smart grid and consumer advocacy organizations, reinforce the importance of the SGCC’s mission.
The SGCC has three mandates:
- In-depth research on consumer understanding, acceptance, and use of the Smart Grid with emphasis on their needs, preferences, and priorities
- Outreach and education to allow consumers to better understand the smart grid, its issues, and its potential.
- Development of best practices to involve and empower consumers in the rollout of Smart Grid technologies.
Control4 is proud to be a founding member of the SGCC, along with leading companies that span key stakeholder groups, including utilities, technology and consumer electronics companies, retailers, and consumer advocates:
- Magnolia/Best Buy
- Control4
- Ember
- General Electric (GE)
- GridWise Alliance (GWA)
- IBM
- NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory)
- Ohio Consumers’ Counsel (OCC)
- Southern California Edison (SCE)
- Silver Spring Networks (SSN)
The Demand Response and Smart Grid Coalition has joined as an observing member, contributing resources to the SGCC.
