May 7, 2015 - Imagine having your very own energy efficiency expert, one who drops by at your discretion to compile a personalized report of ways you could save energy for a lower natural gas bill, and then leaves choosing which steps you'll take and how much you want to save entirely up to you.

A portion of Black Hills Energy's residential natural gas customers in Colorado have had that free help at their disposal since early January, thanks to an innovative, interactive online energy tool that combines a customer's voluntary input and statistics from other sources to provide clearly defined, actionable information, including customized energy efficiency tips and an anonymous comparison to similarly sized and equipped homes in their area of Colorado.

"Our customers consistently tell us that they'd like to improve the efficiency of their homes but that they're not sure how to go about it," said Matt Daunis, Energy Services manager for Black Hills Energy. "Through our Home Energy Report program, customers who want to can pick as they please from a personalized menu of insights and tips that suit their unique lifestyle and individual needs."

About 45,000 of Black Hills Energy's 74,000 Colorado natural gas customers were chosen for the utility's Home Energy Report program. The Colorado Public Utilities Commission approved implementation of the program through 2017.

Four months in, the innovative, interactive reports have proven quite popular. "People really like the personalized nature and the freedom our program gives them to decide what, if any, of the suggested measures they'll take to reduce their natural gas consumption and lower their natural gas bill," Daunis said.

This program has been successfully deployed to over 95 utilities worldwide and has consistently delivered between 1.5 and 3.5 percent in average energy savings. Customers can opt-out or switch to paperless online. To date, the opt-out rate for the program is very low: under 0.1 percent of participants.

Customers have access to an interactive, user-friendly web portal designed to help them actively engage with their energy information. They can use the portal to review additional efficiency tips, conduct an automated 30-second home energy evaluation, develop a savings plan, and much more. Black Hills Energy's Colorado natural gas participating customers can access the portal, update their information and learn more about the program at bhcg.opower.com .

Black Hills Energy's partner in the new service is enterprise software company Opower. Opower's software reaches more than 50 million households and businesses. As with everything about the program, it's all up to the individual to change their behavior and save money and energy.

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