MANASSAS, VA and SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, CA — (Marketwired) — 02/10/15 — TextPower, a leader in innovative text messaging software solutions, announced that TextPower SmartAlerts have been successfully deployed by , providing customers with convenient, reliable text messaging communications for outage alerts and seasonal peak demand shaving.
NOVEC is a locally based and member owned electric distribution cooperative headquartered in Manassas, Virginia. The not-for-profit co-op supplies and distributes electricity and provides energy-related services to more than 157,000 customers in Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudoun, Prince William, Stafford, and Clarke counties, the Town of Clifton, and the City of Manassas Park. It is one of the largest electric cooperatives in the nation.
For the past year NOVEC has used TextPower–s text messaging platform to implement two main communications strategies — load shaving and outage reporting. Thousands of NOVEC customers have selected to opt in to receive alerts about reducing their use of power during the hottest and coldest days to conserve power.
By reducing the amount of power consumed during the hottest and coldest days of the year, NOVEC can . For more than 30 years, NOVEC has recruited customers to help in this effort by installing remote-operated load management switches on water heaters and air conditioners. The has been very successful and resulted in millions of dollars in savings for customers with very little effort.
Building on that success, NOVEC offers another way to help customers “use it wisely” by using their cellphones. Customers can now sign up to receive a text message at peak-use times to remind them to conserve energy on those days when it matters the most.
“Consumers are getting more and more used to relying on text messaging as a basic everyday communications tool and it–s become a very popular service with more of our customers opting in daily,” said Roy.
TextPower SmartAlerts are also used for two-way outage reporting. Customers can report outages in to NOVEC and receive alerts letting them know when the power is back on. Simply typing in the keyword “status” allows customers to check to see if the power–s on, in real-time, or to get an estimate on when the power will come back on.
“We knew we wanted to use text messaging for the outage reporting. Surveys told us that our customers are highly affluent, demanding more and more technology and communications,” said John Roy, Communications Specialist with NOVEC.
According to Roy, after reviewing TextPower and comparing it to other vendors, TextPower–s support of Milsoft multi-speak technology was a key factor in NOVEC–s choice, along with recommendations from other utilities where it has been successfully implemented.
“NOVEC is one of the industry leading utilities that is maximizing the power of text messaging,” noted Mark Nielsen, Executive Chairman and co-founder of TextPower. “Our TextPower messaging platform is integrated with Milsoft–s Outage Management System at NOVEC to deliver greater customer service while saving the utility money. We are pleased to partner with NOVEC to deliver this innovation to their customers.”
For more information about or other industries call 818.222.8600 or email .
TextPower, Inc. provides alerting and authentication solutions to a variety of industries worldwide using text messaging (SMS). The company–s software and text messaging services help companies enhance their revenues, decrease costs and improve customer service. TextPower–s authentication product, TextKey, replaces the token or security fob previously needed to verify the identity of online users for password-protected applications. TextPower–s mission-critical infrastructure employs geo-redundancy for the industry–s highest reliability, providing delivery to virtually every cell phone in the United States and connections to most recognized wireless operators around the world. Visit , email or call 888.818.1808 for more information.
Dan Chmielewski
Madison Alexander PR
Office +1 714-832-8716
Mobile: +1 949-231-2965
You must be logged in to post a comment Login