WASHINGTON, Jan. 22, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Association for Demand Response & Smart Grid (ADS) today announced the addition of five new members. The new members are Duke Energy, EnerNOC, Steffes Corporation, Corporate Systems Engineering, and Silver Spring Networks.

ADS is a non-profit organization based in Washington, DC, that focuses on development and exchange of information among policymakers, utilities, technology companies, and other stakeholders. It includes as members companies and organizations, as well as individuals who consider themselves to be demand response (DR) and smart grid professionals.

"We are excited to have these new members join ADS and help us grow our ability to serve the needs of the DR and smart grid community," said Dan Delurey, Executive Director of ADS. "Duke Energy is now the largest utility in the nation, and its membership will help us expand the network of utility expertise in the organization. EnerNOC is one of the world's largest providers of demand response, and recently, the company has staked a leadership position in energy efficiency by leveraging its automated fault detection and analytics software. Steffes Corporation is a leading provider of thermal storage systems and is now deploying technology to use them to provide DR services. Corporate Systems Engineering is one of the companies providing technology and services to utilities and others that help them manage and control the demand response resources on their systems. And Silver Spring Networks is a leading platform and solutions provider for smart energy networks that enable utilities to introduce efficiencies, integrate renewable energy, and empower customers to monitor and manage consumption.

"The addition of such expertise and diversity is an exciting development for ADS, and it will help us to become a better organization," said Delurey. "These new members will help both now, as we continue to implement the National Action Plan on Demand Response, and in the coming year as we head towards the 10^th annual National Town Meeting on Demand Response and Smart Grid, to be held July 9-11, 2013 in Washington, DC."

Corporate Systems Engineering provides turn-key energy management and energy efficiency solutions to energy companies worldwide. The company is a leading supplier of direct demand response systems, including hardware and software, for the largest utility programs in the country and is a major developer of AMI solutions for the rapidly evolving Smart Grid. Corporate Systems Engineering has been partnering with utilities to supply innovative solutions for over 30 years and currently controls approximately 7,000 MW of power across the country. CSE offers one-way and two-way communication Residential, as well as Commercial and Industrial, control products. CSE is well versed in integrating a variety of communication technologies for the Smart Grid - including industry leading 2way cellular solutions around Load Control, Price Response and Spinning Reserve. For more information, visit www.corporatesystems.com.

Duke Energy is the largest electric power holding company in the United States, supplying and delivering energy to approximately 7 million U.S. customers. It has approximately 58,200 megawatts of electric generating capacity in the Carolinas, the Midwest and Florida – and natural gas distribution services in Ohio and Kentucky. Its commercial and international businesses own and operate diverse power generation assets in North America and Latin America, including a portfolio of renewable energy assets. For more information, visit www.duke-energy.com.

EnerNOC unlocks the full value of energy management for its utility and commercial, institutional, and industrial (C&I) customers by delivering a comprehensive suite of demand-side management services  that reduce real-time demand for electricity, increase energy efficiency, improve energy supply transparency in competitive markets, and mitigate emissions. EnerNOC's Utility Solutions™ offerings, which include both Implementation and Consulting services, are helping hundreds of utilities and grid operators worldwide meet their demand-side management objectives. EnerNOC serves thousands of commercial, institutional, and industrial customers worldwide through its suite of energy management applications including: DemandSMART™, comprehensive demand response; EfficiencySMART™, continuous energy savings; SupplySMART™, energy price and risk management; and CarbonSMART™, enterprise carbon management. For more information, visit www.enernoc.com.

Silver Spring Networks builds networks that enable a utility to make the business changes necessary today to improve efficiency, reliability, and customer service while reducing costs. Built for real-time networking, its open standards permit multiple vendors to innovate new products and services for the utility while remaining scalable and secure for system-wide implementation. Seamlessly integrate these new networking technologies while simultaneously building in redundancy, integrity and reliability and increasing operational efficiencies. For more information, visit www.silverspringnet.com.

Steffes Corporation is a 40-year old manufacturing company located in North Dakota. In the mid 1980s, Steffes designed the first American made electric thermal storage (ETS) heating unit which electric utilities used for managing power supply and demand while at the same time providing consumers comfortable and affordable space heating. Over the years, Steffes ETS systems have evolved to become sophisticated power management and energy storage devices and today are equipped with grid-interactive controls which provide the ability to quickly respond to the real-time needs of the electric grid. In addition to traditional value of load management and off-peak heating, today's systems have the ability to providing frequency control (regulation), LMP optimization, enhanced renewable integration and load management services. These low cost, distributive energy storage devices can be aggregated to provide significant value to ISO's, Utilities, the Electric Grid and Consumers.  For more information, visit www.steffes.com.

About the Association for Demand Response & Smart Grid
The Association for Demand Response & Smart Grid (ADS) is a nonprofit organization, originally formed as the Demand Response Coordinating Committee (DRCC) in 2004.  ADS is a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization consisting of professionals and organizations involved in demand response and smart grid.  It provides services to meet the needs of its members that help them in the conduct of their work and in the attainment of their personal, corporate and governmental objectives.  ADS seeks to establish and grow a demand response "community" of policymakers, utilities, system operators, technology companies, consumers, and other stakeholders.

Group Members of ADS are Ameren, American Public Power Association, Arizona Public Service, California ISO, Comverge, Con Edison, Conservation Services Group, Constellation, Corporate Systems Engineering, Dimplex, Duke Energy, Emerson Climate Technologies, ENBALA, Energate, EnerNOC, Freeman, Sullivan & Co, GE, ISO New England, Joule Assets, Landis+Gyr, MISO, National Grid, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, Navigant Energy Practice, Negawatt, NYSERDA, On-Ramp Wireless, OPower, Pacific Gas & Electric, PECO, PJM Interconnection, Reliant, Rodan Energy Solutions, Inc., Salt River Project, San Diego Gas & Electric, Siemens, Silver Spring Networks, Southern California Edison, Southern Company, Steffes Corporation, Tennessee Valley Authority.     

More information on ADS can be found at: www.demandresponsesmartgrid.org

SOURCE Association for Demand Response & Smart Grid (ADS)