ComEd has recently announced that it will participate in the Green Button initiative. Launched in January, Green Button is based on a consensus industry standard that was created through a public-private partnership with the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology.
ComEd's participation in Green Button comes as the utility embarks on a 10-year, $2.6 billion investment program authorized by the recently passed Energy Infrastructure Modernization Act. Through these investments, ComEd will strengthen and modernize the electrical infrastructure in northern Illinois and transform the system with digital smart grid technologies.The utility will install 130,000 smart meters this year. Beginning in 2013, it will install approximately 400,000 annually until the smart grid build out is complete in 2021.
Green Button is expected to foster innovation by third-party apps developers and providers of energy management services. Customers can provide their energy usage data to energy suppliers and other energy companies to participate in programs that can further reduce their energy costs. While focused mostly on the residential market, Green Button has the potential to touch every American, and to expand to commercial and industrial consumers.
