By Ronald Kovach, managing editor Building Automation

The advent of building controls that are out on the Internet is a reminder that even the best of intentions can also produce potentially bad side effects. Facility managers have grown accustomed to the power of networked building automation systems (BAS) and are exploring the rapidly expanding Building Internet of Things (IoT).

Networked controls have provided convenience, connectivity, better operational efficiency, occupant comfort, and remote control ability. But they have also introduced a new world of vulnerability to computer hackers, whose job, at least right now, is usually a cakewalk, according to cybersecurity experts.Ask some of these experts how easy or difficult it is to penetrate building control systems at present and you hear laughter — not to make light of the situation, but to indicate how easy it is. Billy Rios, whose Silicon Valley-based company WhiteScope works on embedded security problems, says the general state of building control protection and readiness is very poor. Fred Gordy, director of cybersecurity for the consulting firm Intelligent Buildings, estimates only about 15 to 20 percent of BAS are “fairly substantial and resistant” to intrusion. “Some of the guys I respect through the industry — we’re all basically waiting for ‘Cyber 9-11,’ ” he says. “We know it’s coming.”Rios also sees a growing brazenness in hackers, with ransomware and denial of service.

“They want you to know that they’re there, because they’re telling you to pay a ransom or fee,” he says. “Gone are the days when you could just kind of silently ignore this and your business continues to function. Now these attackers are disrupting your business, taking away your communications, your IT assets, your patient data. What’s different is the way they’re now trying to monetize this.” While some facility managers might take comfort in thinking a hacker would have little interest in playing around with their lighting, elevator, or HVAC systems, there’s a bigger potential problem — that the BAS is simply a fairly easy entry point and that, once the BAS has been breached, the hacker can “pivot” into the corporate network, and do far greater damage there.Another tricky part of the challenge is that a single weak link in the long chain of protection — which ranges from integrators and other vendors to facility managers and building occupants — can expose the system to an intruder. For that reason, it is crucial that every link follows best practices, and stays up to date as these evolve, says Ronald Zimmer, president and CEO of the Continental Automated Buildings Association (CABA).  “There are so many parts to it,” he says, “that it’s staggering to know the potential vulnerabilities of systems.” He expects many more intrusions to occur.

“The reality is that the majority of buildings do have vulnerability that can be hacked.”The picture is not all bleak, though. The means of better protecting building control systems from intrusion are, for the most part, not terribly expensive or sophisticated, the experts say. And while building owners and operators need to be more aware of the dangers, the number of attacks their building may be receiving, and the consequences of a successful attack, Zimmer says that, overall, the level of knowledge, company protections, and BAS quality are improving rapidly. The growing involvement of the insurance industry in cyber damage policy-writing could, in effect, enforce best practices. And it is conceivable that the spate of major computer hacks in the last few years — such as Target, Operation Stuxnet, and a German steel mill, which did not involve building controls — has thrown enough of a spotlight on vulnerabilities that it is beginning to raise the cyber consciousness of many facility managers.

© Copyright Building Automation Magazine 2017

Following is a sneak preview from the RealcommEDGE Magazine cover article, “Technology Leaders in The Age of Acceleration,” due to hit desks later this month.

Steve Lefkowitz is the Head of Global Facilities Management for Time Warner. He oversees FM operations and directs a center of excellence organization supporting delivery of hard and soft services across their diversified global portfolio of properties. He is a 35-year veteran of Time Warner where he has held multiple titles including SVP of CRE for HBO. His experience includes transactions, engineering, facilities operations and directing complex real estate construction projects.

He is known as a results-driven and profit-minded executive in the corporate real estate world with the ability to manage large-scale real estate portfolios.What were your major technology projects over the last year, and what was your organizational role? Let me first provide context by framing up our organization and the project I believe would be of most interest to the Realcomm audience. Considered a global leader in the media and entertainment industry, Time Warner has three operating divisions, HBO, Warner Bros. and Turner. There are approximately 25,000 employees and 15M square feet of property worldwide.Our journey began over six years ago with a directive to reduce our NYC real estate portfolio.

We had over 2M square feet of property due to expire at the end of 2018. The strategic program led to consolidating seven buildings and ultimately reducing our footprint by 1M square feet.After an extensive discovery & programming process, we settled on partnering with Related Properties at Hudson Yards, the popular emerging market in mid-town Manhattan. This new neighborhood is being constructed over existing rail yards. There will be 16 towers including commercial, residential and retail space. In terms of scale, it is the largest private real estate development in U.S. history.

The site at 30 Hudson Yards is a 1290 ft. 90-floor skyscraper. We will be occupying more than half of this tower and have designed it as a building-in-a-building to control our own core critical systems.

Our mission-critical businesses are dependent on our ability to operate with five nines of reliability requiring our building infrastructure to be state-of-the-art and driven by smart building technology.Partnering with our information technology team early in the process was of paramount importance. Utilization of our enterprise-wide networks, four corner WiFi and cyber security protocol are all vital components of our smart building program.Tell us about your challenges and decision-making process. With a booming market of smart building technology providers, the challenge for us was to clearly understand the key elements and decision points needed to implement the program. After a trip to a CoRE Tech event with some of our subject matter experts a few years back, smart building technology became part of our daily vocabulary.

The event enabled us to identify and assemble the teams of experts needed to fulfill our vision.We crafted a compelling business case wrapped around energy savings, operating efficiency, environmental responsibility and employee health to help justify the funding needed for our smart building. Quite frankly, it would be irresponsible to construct a new building today that isn’t technologically savvy. As our new home develops, our core electrical, mechanical, life safety and mission critical systems are being wed through the services of a master systems integrator (MSI) focused on satisfying specific use cases that target our savings and efficiency objectives.Continuous commissioning, reduced HVAC wasted run time, energy savings, extended equipment life, improved air quality, occupant comfort, lighting control and occupancy awareness are just a few of the benefits we anticipate.

Thousands of sensors and probes will be bringing back a wealth of data that will be used to responsibly keep our buildings living and breathing.Our goal is to rely more on building intelligence to tell us what the building needs and when it needs it. We’re now set to move more than 5000 employees including our CNN Broadcast Operations and HBO Digital Media Productions unit to 30 Hudson Yards in 2019.What are your highest priority technology initiatives in 2018 and what are the drivers behind those initiatives? Essentially, 2018 has become an all hands-on deck effort to deliver this unique space. As we strive to complete the installation of our smart technology, our work will be centered around finalizing graphics, user interfaces, use cases and fault detection diagnostics. Technically the possibilities are endless; therefore, developing use cases (e.g., utilizing occupancy sensors from the lighting control system to change local BMS controls from occupied to unoccupied modes) will keep us focused on high value solutions that align with our organizational objectives.We will be selecting the appropriate fault detection diagnostic software (or building system analytics) to help intelligently manage the wealth of data generated by these smart building systems. Data for the sake of data is useless. It needs to be actionable.

Ultimately, by automating tasks and sequences, we intend for our smart building to communicate directly with our work order technology: assign work tickets, drive preventive maintenance and in some instances actually make system adjustments. Throughout 2018 we’ll be running checks and balances, fine tuning cyber security and ensuring that all systems on our converged network properly communicate to satisfy our use cases and sequences of operations. We will also be bringing all this data to a single user-friendly dashboard. Training and empowering our FM work force to take advantage of this wealth of building information will be a high priority in 2018. In some cases, we might even be converting wrench turners into technology geeks. In the end, we need to ensure all systems are properly commissioned and our teams are trained and ready for opening day.

What technology/automation/innovation trends do you see having the most impact on the industry over the next three years and why? Utilization of space occupancy data for Operations is an area that’s beginning to draw attention. Today space data is predominately used for project planning of restacks and to evaluate amenity space activity. The next step for space data would be to administer operational changes. Adjust conference rooms based on occupancy levels or, on a grander scale, dynamically control systems and services based upon actual occupancy. The reasonable cost of sensor technology with wireless battery powered devices coupled with the lower price of storage will continue to push the volume of available building data. Mining this information to extract value will continue to be a challenge. Data analytic solutions are saturating the market, but I think ultimately it will be machine learning through artificial intelligence that will help fine tune this data. Similar to how your home Nest thermostat learns your behavior and adjusts temperatures accordingly. The industry is moving at a rapid pace. There is no longer the question about whether the technology works, because it does. The challenge is education and convincing those responsible for funding these initiatives that the return on investment will produce valuable results. Improved performance, system reliability, savings and a healthier work environment, to name a few. There is a need to empower the organization leaders that are about to take on this bold journey with tools to develop viable business cases that offer proven returns.

Next generation occupant experience and smart building technologies are just a few topics that will be presented, along with smart building case studies, at Realcomm | IBcon 2018, which will be held on June 6-7 (June 5: Precon) at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.  

By Jen Wilson  –  Associate Editor/Print, Charlotte Business Journal

The time has come once again for the Charlotte Business Journal‘s Best Places to Work program.

That program recognizes companies that have benefits, policies and practices in place that are among the area’s best, based on employee surveys. Learn more in this recap of last year’s Best Places to Work feature.

A high-energy and entertaining awards event will be held Nov. 1, where we’ll reveal rankings in three size categories.

In the meantime, finalists are participating in a social-media challenge aimed at highlighting what makes them a great workplace. Follow @CBJEvents onTwitter to see photos as they come in — and even if your company didn’t participate in BPTW this year, this is a way to join in the fun. Simply post photos to Twitter, Facebook and Instagram using the hashtags #CoolestCoworkers and #BPTWCLT

Congratulations to our 2017 honorees:

Accrue Partners
AddShoppers
Aerotek
Allied Staff Augmentation Partners Inc.
Ally Financial
Barringer Construction
Basware Inc.
Brasfield & Gorrie LLC
Brooksource
Carolina Office Solutions
CCS Construction Staffing
CGR Creative
Classica Homes
Clean Juice
CliftonLarsonAllen
Corps Team
CPI Security
Diamond Electronics Inc
.DPR Construction
Elements Brands
Elevation Church
EY
Flagship Healthcare Properties
Garfinkel Immigration Law Firm
HarkerDoerre
Hire Dynamics
Home Point Financial
Huber Engineered Woods LLC
iHeartMedia
Intelligent Buildings
J.D. Goodrum Co.
J.M. Cope Construction
Jabian Consulting
JE Dunn Construction
Kavaliro
Kingsmen Software
LendingTree
Little Otter Swim School
MapAnything
Mattamy Homes
McAdams
McKenney’s
Mindseeker
Northwestern Mutual
Passport
Phase 3 Marketing & Communications
PrecisionLender
Q Works Group
Quicken Loans Inc.
Red Ventures
Remi
Samet Corp.
Search Solution Group
Shea Homes Active Lifestyle Communities
SignUpGenius
Skookum
starrdesign
Syntelli Solutions Inc.
TalentBridge
The Crypton Cos.
Torrent Consulting
TowneBank Mortgage
Townsquare Interactive
Tresata
Wharton-Smith Inc. Construction Group
Wheelhouse Media
Windsor Run
Wyndham Capital Mortgage

Like many American cities that experienced significant growth for several decades after World War II, Fairborn, Ohio, (population 33,000, located in the western part of the state, near Dayton) found itself beginning to stagnate in the mid-1970s. Completion of Interstate Highway 675 — which bypassed the city — deterred traffic and new customers for local businesses. Meanwhile, the adjoining town of Beavercreek (located closer to a highway interchange) grew, with newer housing, schools and shopping centers. Fairborn city officials engaged the CRE Consulting Corps to create a revitalization strategy.The Challenge

City leaders had already identified a number of sites for potential redevelopment but agreed they needed a fresh perspective. The Fairborn assignment began as a request to analyze and make recommendations for redevelopment of one property — the Skyway Retail Center — a functionally obsolete and largely deserted shopping/office development. The project changed dramatically, however, once the team was onsite in Fairborn and met with stakeholders, and team members were able to view the property and the city.

The Team

The team, lead by CRE David McCoy (Hawaii), included:

Swain Chapman, CRE (Arizona),David Lane, CRE (British Columbia, Canada),Demetrios Louziotis, CRE (New Jersey),and Thomas Shircliff, CRE (North Carolina).

The five-day assignment began with a city tour, orientation and data collection. Interviews with city elected officials, staff and community stakeholders assisted in completing the situation analysis, followed by two days of deliberation and analysis to determine findings and recommendations.

The Assessment

The team reviewed market data and conducted interviews with 20 government, business and community leaders. A SWOT analysis revealed Fairborn’s strengths, including excellent medical services, proximity to Wright Patterson Air Force Base (largest employer in the state), the Air Force Museum, and Wright State University which has a student enrollment of 19,000. The city is also pro-growth, progressive and business-friendly. Downtown businesses, an eclectic mix of retail and service providers, are located in historic buildings, and new streetscaping is in place. Fairborn’s parks are numerous and large. However, lack of investment and economic development over the past several decades was a decided weakness, and lack of convenient public transit limits how easily people from the Air Force base, museum or University can access the businesses and recreational attractions Fairborn offers. Ultimately, the scope of the project was expanded to include downtown Fairborn and an area adjacent to Wright State University.

The Recommendations

The team determined short-term and longer-term goals for the city. Rather than focus solely on the Skyway Retail Center, immediate action steps also addressed Fairborn’s central business district, including strengthening its downtown business association and focusing resources on promoting the history of Fairborn and its unique shops and businesses.

 

The team’s strategy also emphasized creating a “destination” in the CBD, which already is home to a new business incubator. They advised active partnering with the Air Force base and Wright State University, creating activity-based entertainment venues and establishing a motorized trolley to enhance access to downtown. As for the Skyway Retail Center: the team believed a Citizen Services, Health and Wellness Center would be a successful development and convenient concentration of service businesses.

Longer term, the team prioritized redevelopment of several other targeted sites, and made recommendations for each, identifying commercial and residential opportunities, including mixed-use, hospitality, retail, and student housing.

The Outcome

After the departure of the CRE Consulting Corps team, a final written report was provided. The Consulting Corps looked back, and with the assistance of Rob Anderson, the City Manager, presented the case and an update with CRE members during the NAR meetings in November 2017.

Fairborn hired a downtown revitalization strategist to implement Consulting Corps recommendations. The city invested over $2 million to remove blighted property. They purchased a vacant restaurant and renovated for a new kitchen incubator, substantially reducing downtown vacancy. The city also purchased a former retail center site.

Fairborn began an aggressive branding and marketing campaign along with expanded events programming. In August 2017, Fairborn hosted its first Bluegrass & Brew event, bringing thousands to its downtown. •

Know of a nonprofit, educational institution, or governmental entity that needs answers to a real estate dilemma?

The CRE Consulting Corps, a public service program created and managed by The Counselors of Real Estate, not only solves real estate problems but invariably enhances a property’s performance. Depending on the problem to be solved, CRE Consulting Corps teams may include developers, work out strategists, urban planners, financiers, asset managers and experts in taxation and law: multi-disciplinary professionals who have the answers you need at a “below market price” you can afford. Counselors volunteer their time and you pay only a modest fee to the CRE organization.

Learn whether the CRE Consulting Corps is right for you.

Controls Trends Award presented at AHR Conference

CHICAGO, March 18, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — Intelligent Buildings, LLC, a smart real estate advisory services company was honored when its co-founders, Tom Shircliff and Rob Murchison received the prestigious “Petock Award” for passion and service to the industry.

The Petock Award is named for smart buildings industry pioneer and veteran Marc Petock who was present at the event and stated — “Tom and Rob have been persevering and impacting the smart building industry for over ten years and Intelligent Buildings has had an influence on millions of square feet and billions of dollars in real estate projects”.

Murchison said “We are grateful to Controls Trends for their event and would also like to acknowledge all of our staff who have made this recognition possible.” Shircliff added, “Marc is a legend in the industry as well as a friend, so this is very meaningful to us”.

About Intelligent BuildingsIntelligent Buildings, LLC is a nationally recognized smart real estate advisory services company founded in 2004 with headquarters inCharlotte, NC. Intelligent Buildings provides planning and implementation of next generation strategy for new buildings, existing portfolios and smart communities. Their work includes “The Smartest Building in America”, the largest energy analytics project in North America, the smart buildings standards for the US and Canadian governments, conception and management of a Clinton Global Initiative and recently released Intelligent Buildings CyberSafe services.

SOURCE Intelligent Buildings, LLC

RELATED LINKShttps://www.intelligentbuildings.com

See the video here:http://youtu.be/0E61K9TkTfE

Rob Murchison, Co-founder of Intelligent Buildings, LLC, has been selected as an instructor for the Harvard University Graduate School of Design Executive Education for the second year of their smart building and smart cities curriculum. The class is named, Smart Buildings: Making Place at the Intersection of Planning, Design, and Technology.

Mr. Murchison and Intelligent Buildings have been recognized with numerous industry firsts including lead consulting on “The Smartest Building in America”, conception and development of a Clinton Global Initiative public private partnership, program management for the largest energy analytics project in North America and creation of national smart building standards for both the US and Canadian federal governments. Additionally, he has been named one of the “35 to watch in the industry for 2014″.

Mr. Murchison will bring his considerable experience and expertise in both smart buildings and smart community consulting to the diverse classroom including real estate developers, managers and leasing professionals, master planners, government executives and technology leaders.

The class will take place over a two day period on the campus of Harvard University at the Graduate School of Design building.

Contact information: [email protected] – 704-759-2700

Originally published  |  JULY 17, 2014 BY KEN SMYERS  |  www.controltrends.org

ControlTrends met up with Tom Shircliff, Co-founder, Intelligent Buildings, LLC at IBcon 2014. Intelligent Buildings, LLC is premiere Buildings Solution Provider with one of the most impressive client lists in the smart real estate industry. Tom’s message was clear enough: Sometimes, the hardest part is just getting the solution process started. To facilitate the get-started process, Intelligent Buildings has developed several well-scaled Advisory Starter Kits to make the first step — towards achieving the customer’s specific project solution, easier. Take a good look at some great ideas from Intelligent Buildings, LLC, the team considered by many to be the best in the business.

IntelligentBuildings®, LLC is a Smart Real Estate professional services company. We provide planning and implementation management of next generation strategy for new building projects, existing portfolio optimization and smart community development. Additionally, we consult with future-minded solution providers who seek to be more attuned to owner’s next generation strategy, including product development and go to market strategy.

We are a recognized thought leader with numerous industry firsts including consultation on the award winning “Smartest Building in America”, conception and development of a Clinton Global Initiative public private partnership, program management for the largest energy analytics project in the North America and development of national smart building standards for both the US and Canadian federal governments.

We have developed a consistent and a proven technology approach for developing new projects and optimizing existing portfolios that respects the stakeholders and traditional process while not compromising on the realities of today’s building technology and opportunities of the information age.

Intelligent Buildings has worked extensively throughout the US and Canada in over 50 different cities along with selected other international work and market research in The Middle East, Asia and Central America.

Headquartered in Charlotte, NC and with offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, and Washington, DC our firm has advised on some of the world’s most ‘intelligent’ buildings and real-estate projects since 2004.

NEW YORK, Sept. 23 /PRNewswire/ — Duke Energy, Cisco and Charlotte Center City Partners today announced the creation of Envision: Charlotte, a first-of-its-kind public-private collaboration to make commercial buildings in Charlotte’s urban core more energy efficient.

The initiative was announced this morning by former President Bill Clinton at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York. President Clinton was joined by Duke Energy Chairman and CEO Jim Rogers, Cisco Chairman and CEO John Chambers, Charlotte Center City Partners CEO Michael Smith and Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx.

A primary focus of Envision: Charlotte is to reduce energy that is wasted in commercial buildings within Charlotte’s 1.94 square-mile I-277 inner-belt loop by using innovative technologies to encourage energy efficiency and changes in consumer behavior. The initiative will seek to partner with the owners of approximately 60 commercial buildings who control more than 15 million square feet within the inner-loop.

To date, business and local government leaders controlling more than 12 million square feet of space are considering participating in Envision: Charlotte.

The initiative will deploy a combination of digital smart grid and building automation technologies, as well as unique energy tracking tools, to provide building owners and office workers with near real-time information about the buildings’ collective energy use. It will also suggest specific actions office workers can take to reduce energy consumption.

The goal of the initiative is to reduce energy use by up to 20 percent and avoid approximately 220,000 metric tons of greenhouse gases by 2016.

Another key objective of Envision: Charlotte is to build a public-private approach to energy efficiency that can be replicated in commercial buildings in cities across America.

There is no cost to participate in Envision: Charlotte

Commercial building owners can participate in the initiative at no cost. The energy saved is expected to eventually more than offset Duke Energy and Cisco’s estimated investment of $5.3 million to deploy the initiative, 80 percent of which will come from Duke Energy and 20 percent from Cisco.

Duke Energy and Cisco will team up with Charlotte Center City Partners and the city of Charlotte to encourage commercial building owners in uptown Charlotte to participate in Envision: Charlotte.

The following are the organizations that have already been contacted and expressed interest in participating in the initiative:

Bank of America, which is headquartered in Charlotte, and controls approximately 7 million square feet.Wells Fargo, which has its eastern bank headquarters in Charlotte, and controls approximately 3 million square feet.The city of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, which controls approximately 1.4 million square feet.Duke Energy, which is headquartered in Charlotte, and controls 1.3 million square feet.

 

According to the 2010 census, Charlotte has a population of more than 750,000, making it the 18th largest city in the U.S. The city’s high concentration of commercial office buildings also facilitates smart grid connectivity and consumer education on ways to reduce energy that is wasted in commercial buildings.

The Envision: Charlotte initiative builds on the Charlotte region’s economic development “energy capital USA” initiative that was announced by North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue, city and business leaders in April 2009. Today, the region is home to more than 175 energy companies, employing more than 13,000 people.

For more information about the initiative, go to www.EnvisionCharlotte.com Find more information, resource links, photos and videos here: http://news.duke-energy.com/2010/09/21/envision-charlotte-announced-at-clinton-global-initiative.

The following are quotes from key participants in Envision: Charlotte:

Duke Energy Chairman and CEO Jim Rogers:

“Charlotte’s uptown within the I-277 loop is a highly concentrated urban area that provides an excellent site to demonstrate what is possible with advanced energy efficiency and smart grid technologies. We are eager to promote Envision: Charlotte to our customers who depend on us for reliable electricity 24/7 – and work with our partners in this initiative to show them just what can be possible with better information about their energy use and these exciting new technologies.”

Cisco Chairman and CEO John Chambers: 

“As cities all over the world experience significant population growth, the need to sustainably balance social, economic and environmental resources becomes even more paramount. In fact, urban areas currently contribute at least 60 percent of global carbon emissions. Cisco believes that technology can transform how the world manages these energy and environmental challenges. Today’s announcement of this public-private collaboration between Duke Energy, Cisco, the city of Charlotte and others demonstrates how we can change energy use habits and consumer behavior through innovation and operational excellence.” 

Charlotte Center City Partners President Michael Smith: 

“We aspire for Charlotte’s central business district to be the most environmentally sustainable in the nation. Charlotte differentiates itself by taking a very ‘private sector’ approach to city- building through the action of corporate leadership. With Envision: Charlotte, we are once again setting a priority (environmental sustainability) and creating an architecture that aligns infrastructure investments, policy and commerce to achieve a shared goal.” 

Wells Fargo’s Laura Schulte, president of community banking for the Eastern Region: 

“As part of our commitment to serving and supporting the communities where we do business, Wells Fargo is dedicated to implementing long-term efforts to enhance sustainability and reduce energy use. Charlotte is an important center of business for Wells Fargo, and we are pleased to be a participant in the Envision: Charlotte program. We look forward to working with Duke Energy and Cisco to further improve the energy efficiency of our uptown Charlotte buildings.” 

Bank of America’s Catherine P. Bessant, global technology and operations executive: 

“We are delighted to be a partner in Envision Charlotte and do our part to help make our headquarters city more energy efficient. As a company, we are constantly evaluating technologies to create energy efficiency and reduce waste both in our existing real estate portfolio and in new construction. We look forward to working with Envision: Charlotte and other Charlotte-based companies to meet a collective goal of reducing energy use in major commercial buildings in Uptown Charlotte.” 

Environmental Defense Fund’s Michael Regan, Southeast energy director and former EPA energy and air policy manager: 

“This is an unprecedented plan to align business interests with smart grid technology in a way that can propel Charlotte to the forefront of energy efficiency in commercial and government buildings. Envision Charlotte is one of the most forward-thinking projects on the East Coast.” 

POWERGRID International Magazine Names Projects of the Year Awards at DistribuTECH 2012

The editors of POWERGRID International magazine (formerly Utility Automation & Engineering T&D magazine) and PennWell Corp. have announced four winners for the magazine’s annual Projects of the Year Awards program.

The winners were selected for four specific categories: Best Energy Efficiency/Demand Response Project, Best Grid Integration of Renewables Project, Best Smart Grid Project and Best Smart Metering Project.

The awards were given out today during the keynote presentation at the DistribuTECH 2012 conference in San Antonio.

For more details on these award winners, see the April issue of POWERGRID International magazine

Best Energy Efficiency/Demand Response Project

Finalists in the 2012 Energy Efficiency/Demand Response Project of the Year category include Ameren Illinois for the ActOnEnergy program and Baltimore Gas & Electric for the Smart Energy Savers program.

The winner of the Energy Efficiency/Demand Response Project of the Year Award is Duke Energy for the utility’s Smart Energy Now program.

As part of the Envision: Charlotte initiative, Duke Energy started a new pilot program called Smart Energy Now to create energy and capacity reductions through behavioral modifications. The program targets occupants and managers of commercial buildings and provides them with detailed information on their buildings’ energy usage. This allows them to make comparisons between their energy performance and that of other buildings within the community—and to take actionable steps to improve energy consumption.

Duke Energy, Cisco and Verizon launched the campaign in the community with a goal to make Charlotte the most environmentally sustainable urban core in the nation. Kiosks are activated with live energy data and provide building occupants with information about the current energy consumption, recommendations and tips for changes they can make to decrease their energy usage.

The program captures data from over 150 meters in 65 buildings on a near real-time basis, aggregating and normalizing that data and working with several partners to generate community level content.

Best Grid Integration of RenewablesProject

The finalist in the 2012 Grid Integration of Renewables category is PNM for the Prosperity Energy PV Plus storage project.

The winner of the Grid Integration of Renewables Project of the Year Award is the California ISO for the ISO’s visual approach to managing renewable energy.

The California Independent System Operator Corporation (or California ISO) is a non-profit public benefit corporation that manages 80 percent of California’s power grid and its wholesale electricity market.

California has one of the world’s most ambitious agendas for addressing climate change, with a goal of generating 33 percent of its power from renewable sources by 2020. The California ISO needed to be able to optimize resources in order to achieve the right balance between intermittent and highly variable renewable energy, while ensuring stability and reliability of the electric grid.

The California ISO turned to situational intelligence software which integrates with the ISO’s existing systems and databases, gathers data from multiple different sources and presents the results in intuitive visual displays. The renewables intelligence application provides dispatchers with the ability to assess, in real-time, current conditions so they can make appropriate adjustments. In addition, it enables California ISO to stay within defined limits on the circuit path.

Best Smart Grid Project

Finalists in the 2012 Smart Grid Project of the Year category include Duke Energy for the company’s smart grid vision and LIGHT SEAS in Brazil for the company’s distribution automation for underground power vaults.

The winner of the Smart Grid Project of the Year Award is AEP Ohio for the utility’s gridSMART demonstration project.

The AEP Ohio gridSMART demonstration project is taking a community-based approach to leading the nation in developing and implementing smart technologies for energy delivery. The project incorporates a full suite of advanced grid technologies for 110,000 customers on a site selected for its concentration and diversity of distribution infrastructure and consumers.

The project includes a new distribution management system, integrated volt/VAR control, automated circuit reconfiguration, AMI, HAN, community energy storage and renewable generation sources. These technologies are combined with two-way consumer communication and information sharing, demand response, dynamic pricing and consumer products such as plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and smart appliances. In addition, the project incorporates comprehensive cybersecurity capabilities, interoperability and a data assessment process that, with grid simulation capabilities, will make the demonstration results a readily adaptable, integrated solution for AEP.

The solution is expected to reduce demand by 15 megawatts, reduce energy consumption by 18,000 megawatt-hours, reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 16,650 tons and save consumers an estimated $5.75 million over the length of the project.

Best Smart Metering Project

Finalists in the 2012 Smart Metering Project of the Year category include Entergy for the meter-related load management initiative and San Diego Gas & Electric for the utility’s smart meter program.

The winner of the Smart Metering Project of the Year Award is Toronto Hydro for the utility’s advanced metering project.

Ontario, home to one-third of all Canadians, has taken aggressive steps to foster a “conservation culture.”

As part of this initiative, Toronto Hydro, one of the largest municipal utilities inCanada, worked with strategic partners to implement advanced metering and dynamic pricing structures.

With the introduction of time-of-use (TOU) rates in Ontario, Toronto Hydro developed a strategy: The utility would utilize technology to increase its level of customer service and to educate consumers on actual usage patterns. Toronto Hydro has launched a number of programs to encourage consumers to become more aware of their TOU rates.

More than 500,000 homes and businesses transitioned to TOU rates and more than 100,000 customers have signed on to view their electricity usage through a customer Web portal.

AMI enables Toronto Hydro to read hourly interval data and retrieve voltage data from all endpoints. The two-way networking has the ability to penetrate most meters, despite a dense urban environment.

More information on POWERGRID International’s Projects of the Year Awards, POWERGRID Internationalmagazine and the DistribuTECH conference can be obtained online athttp:// distributech.com and athttp://power-grid.com.

About POWERGRID International

POWERGRID International magazine (formerly Utility Automation & Engineering T&D magazine) celebrates its 17th year as the voice of the electric T&D industry in 2012. More than 40,000 T&D professionals read POWERGRID International magazine for expert coverage of the industry’s important news and emerging trends. The magazine and DistribuTECH are owned by PennWell Corp., a worldwide media company based in Tulsa, Okla.

About PennWell

PennWell Corp. is a diversified business-to-business media and information company that provides quality content and integrated marketing solutions for the following industries: oil and gas, electric power, water and wastewater, renewable, electronics, semiconductor, contamination control, optoelectronics, fiberoptics, enterprise storage, converting, nanotechnology, fire, emergency services and dental. Founded in 1910, PennWell publishes over 100 print and online magazines and newsletters, conducts 60 conferences and exhibitions on six continents, and has an extensive offering of books, maps, web sites, research and database services. In addition to PennWell’s headquarters in Tulsa, Oklahoma the Company has major offices in Nashua, New Hampshire; Houston, Texas;London, England; Mountain View, California; Fairlawn, New Jersey,Moscow, Russia, and Hong Kong, China. In 2010, PennWell celebrated 100 years in business.

For more information, contact:

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Envision Charlotte, a unique public-private partnership that leverages sustainability for economic growth as a model for all communities, announces the creation of its second model program, Smart Water Nowsm. This water measurement and efficiency initiative follows the first- of-its-kind Smart Energy Now® program. The goal is to reduce water consumption and related expenses in Uptown’s office buildings by up to 20% over five years.

Several leading solution partners are working with Envision Charlotte and the City of Charlotte to design and install the system, including CH2M HILL, a global leader in water consulting, design, design-build, operations, and program management; Itron, the leading provider of energy and water resource management solutions for nearly 8,000 utilities around the world; Verizon, a global leader in delivering innovative communications, information and entertainment; and Siemens as a subject matter expert.

“These solution partners are demonstrating innovation and leadership by providing their expertise, products and services to help us create models for communities anywhere in the world,” said Tom Shircliff, Chairman, Envision Charlotte and co-founder of Intelligent Buildings, LLC.

Like its sister program for energy, Smart Water Nowsm will aggregate information into a single number representing the total uptown usage, then drive awareness and behavior change to reduce consumption. The results will lower operational costs, improve sustainability, engage occupants and contribute to the overall value proposition of working and living in the Center City. “Our Center City offers one of the most compelling cases in the country for attracting business and talent and this Envision Charlotte program adds another significant facet” said Michael Smith, Chairman and CEO, Charlotte Center City Partners.

The City of Charlotte and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities Department (CMUD) are supporting Envision Charlotte vision and play a foundational role. “Envision Charlotte is creating a model for all communities and demonstrating the link between sustainability and growth” said Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx. “I applaud the leadership and innovation from our utility and the solution partners with whom they are working.”

Building occupants can track the city’s progress on interactive kiosks, smart phones and web sites along with existing energy information. The design has been established, the downtown surveys have begun and Envision Charlotte expects to have its new program in place in the Fall of 2012.

About Envision Charlotte:Envision Charlotte is a public-private collaboration that is leading Charlotte to become a global model for environmental sustainability and measurable economic results. Introduced at the 2010 Clinton Global Initiatives, Envision Charlotte is focused on driving significant reductions in energy and water consumption over the next five years, while reducing waste and improving the quality of Charlotte’s air. The non-profit has more than 80 volunteers representing over 50 companies, and works with a network of solution partners and Center City office building owners and managers to deliver its services. www.envisioncharlotte.com

About CH2M HILL:Employee-owned CH2M HILL is a global leader in consulting,design, design-build,operations, and program managementfor government, civil, industrial and energy clients. The firm’s work is concentrated in the areas of water, transportation, environmental, energy, facilities and resources. With US$6.4 billion in revenue and 30,000 employees, CH2M HILL is an industry-leading program management, construction management and design firm, as ranked by Engineering News-Record and named a leader in sustainable engineering by Verdantix. The firm has been named a FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For five times. Visit us at http://www.ch2mhill.com, twitter.com/ch2mhill and facebook.com/ch2mhill.

About CMUD:The largest public water and wastewater utility in the Carolinas, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utility Department proudly serves more than 788,000 customers in the City of Charlotte and greater Mecklenburg County — including the towns of Matthews, Mint Hill, Pineville, Huntersville, Davidson, and Cornelius. Providing both high-quality drinking water and wastewater services, CMUD has an annual operating budget of $286 million that is funded strictly from rates and fees. The CMUD operating budget is funded strictly from water and sewer bill payment, while capital improvements are paid for mostly through the sale of bonds. CMUD operates 3 water treatment plants, 5 wastewater treatment plants, and maintains more than 8000 miles of water distribution and wastewater collection pipes.

About Itron:Itron is the leading provider of energy and water resource management solutions for nearly 8,000 utilities around the world. We offer end-to-end solutions that include electricity, gas, water and heat measurement and control technology; communications systems; software; and professional services. With more than 9,000 employees doing business in more than 130 countries, Itron empowers utilities to responsibly and efficiently manage energy and water resources. To realize a sustainable future, start here: www.itron.com.

About Verizon:Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to consumer, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America’s most reliable wireless network, with 93 million retail customers nationwide. Verizon also provides converged communications, information and entertainment services over America’s most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers integrated business solutions to customers in more than 150 countries, including all of the Fortune 500. A Dow 30 company with $111 billion in 2011 revenues, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of nearly 192,000. For more information, visit www.verizon.com.