68 million to various venture capital fund

In a context of quasi-tarissement of the fundraising in the United States, the American company CPower distinguished recently by bringing together a round table of 10.68 million to various venture capital fund (). "If CPower was able to convince investors, is that it appears as a first link in the chain to turn the us into the"Smart Grid"power distribution system, this future network totally computerized and decentralized the Government of Barack Obama encourages the achievement", says Ignace of Prest, partner at Schneider Electric Ventures, just reinvest in CPower. The trade of the latter is, indeed, to act on the demand for electricity to cope with peaks in consumption.

This CPower offers large customers of electricity suppliers to win money by reducing their consumption when the balance of the electrical network might be compromised. Because of the fragmentation of the system of supply of electricity in the United States, producers lack knowledge of the final customer. When the application takes flight, network managers can only increase their offer. They do not have the infrastructure or the skills to identify customers who reduce their consumption margins, install home adapted meters and manage programs to "erase". Hence the idea of CPower position as early as 2001, this niche for the interface. In return, CPower shares with the client the remuneration granted for "deleted" kilowatts

CPower thus manages the erasure for suppliers of electricity in several regions of the East coast of the United States, but also in Ontario, in Texas and California. "We offer to large accounts that are industrial sites, commercial or Government programs to reduce their consumption, ranging from 10 to 15 of the installed capacity", explains Garry Fromer, CPower President.

Avoid the blackout

There are different types of programs of erasure. Emergency programmes are intended to avoid the blackout that will result from an imbalance brutal and massive network. Customers who subscribe to such emergency programmes may have to reduce their consumption at any time. The activation of these programs, however, remains outstanding. Most of the time, the increase in demand is expected, and triggers an increase in the market price of the kilowatt. Where removal programs which the outbreak is linked to the crossing of a threshold price chosen by the client. When CPower provides the crossing of the threshold, it notifies the client before or the same morning and, if it is in agreement, CPower driver unloading remote. Clients participating in the operation are paid on the market of the kilowatt price as long as it remains above the threshold that they chose.

After to be self-funded until in 2007, CPower lifted EUR 17 million, and has embarked on a strategy of geographic expansion and acquisitions, just require a $ 10 million extension. In 2008, it has doubled its sales to some 30 million euros. It manages more than 2,400 megawatts and has a capacity of 700 megawatts erasure, with more than 3,000 installed sites. "In contrast to competitors as EnerNOC or Comverge, who entered in the stock market in 2007 before being profitable, CPower preferred use private financing to not be subjected to constraints of government procurement before receipt, says Ignace de Prest." But it is the balance this year.

Another originality of CPower: he is interested in the European market. The France is probably not the country where he can find the faster its place, but, says Garry Fromer, "to the extent that our key interlocutor is usually the network manager, markets structured around an operator major as is the case in France us are not unknown." The control of the application, he continues, it is part of the concerns of all electricity producers. "EDF research and development actually spent the last week a day to"active management of power consumption ". A recent study led by Capgemini concluded that its generalization to the countries of the Union would achieve 25-50 of their goals for 2020 for CO2 emissions reduction and energy savings. It would also avoid the construction of the equivalent of 150 medium-sized plants.