EIS Alliance Invites Public Agency Membership

MORGAN HILL, Calif., Nov. 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Energy Information Standards (EIS) Alliance, created to develop a common framework for industrial, commercial and residential facilities to share and communicate energy data, has announced a new category of membership specifically to improve Regulators' access to the standards development process.  

The EIS Alliance develops use cases and data models for energy management systems to share energy information among multiple stakeholders. This web of energy information, interfaced to customer energy management systems, will enable countless new applications and methods for reducing load and balancing energy supply. The Alliance is also a resource for Utilities, Regulators and Standards Development Organizations to better understand the possibilities presented by, and the technical and policy requirements to enable, intelligent load.

"The difficulty in bringing members of the regulatory community into the standards process stems in part from the fact that so much of the work is done in organizations like the EIS Alliance," said Chris Kotting, executive director of the Alliance, and a former regulator himself.  "Participation in the development work within an industry alliance generally requires joining that alliance, which means providing financial support, as well as a commitment to support that alliance's efforts in the marketplace.  Regulators cannot do either one, so membership is not really an option.  As a result, their input comes late in the process, and isn't as effective as ongoing participation."

Public Agency membership in the EIS Alliance has been carefully structured to remove any implication that a regulator is in any way prejudging the outcome of either a present or future regulatory proceeding, and requires no dues payment or other financial support.  At the same time, it provides regulators a voice into the standards development process at an early stage.

"The goal for this category of membership is simply to engage the expertise of regulators and regulatory agency staffs, help them understand the standards process better, and allow them to continue to do the important work of fairly and equitably deciding the cases put before them," said Kotting.

About the EIS Alliance

Founded in 2009, the EIS Alliance is a trade association for suppliers and users of energy management systems and smart grid technologies. The EIS Alliance works to educate policymakers, utilities, the media, the financial community and stakeholders on how energy management systems and smart grid technologies can help modernize our electricity system and provide customers with new information and options for managing their electricity use.

Member companies include A.O. Smith, Aruba Networks, Coulomb Technologies, Ecotality, Honeywell, Johnson Controls, ParkPod and Trane. More information about the EIS Alliance can be found at www.eisalliance.org.

SOURCE EIS Alliance