Opower (NYSE: OPWR), the global leader in cloud-based software for the utility industry, today announced that independent analyst firm Verdantix published a report that concludes Opower leads in customer care and digital engagement innovation through the release of NextWeb, its utility web solution. The report, published in October 2015, says NextWeb directly addresses the utility industry’s push to rein in costs and modernize online customer communications.

NextWeb, launched in July 2015, gives utilities a powerful and customizable online solution to create highly personalized and targeted web and mobile experiences for their customers. By leveraging Opower’s vast store of energy data and analytics engine -- currently used by 85 utilities and delivered to over 57 million households worldwide -- NextWeb empowers utilities to deploy a dynamic digital experience to their customers with far less strain on their internal IT organizations.

The report points out that “customer service departments are under high pressure to contain or reduce costs – which has brought strategies around containing the cost-to-serve into sharp focus.” Verdantix notes, “Opower has already made progress supporting self-service programmes, which is a key tool for reducing cost-to-serve,” and highlights Opower’s work with Baltimore Gas & Electric, “increasing web registration fourfold, as well as increasing the length of time customers spend on the website.”

“The latest analysis from Verdantix highlights what we’ve known all along: that there’s a big opportunity for utilities to leverage digital engagement to improve their customer relationships,” said Alex Kinnier, Senior Vice President of Products and Engineering at Opower. “We have more engineers working on residential utility customer engagement than any other company in our space. NextWeb was developed so that utilities have a future-proof tool that will be continually improved and expanded thanks to Opower’s significant investment in our online and mobile solutions.”

According to Verdantix, a survey of over 40 utility industry executives confirmed that digitalization of customer care will continue to be a focus for the foreseeable future, as utilities attempt to reduce costs and catch up with rising customer expectations for a high quality web experience. Verdantix said NextWeb is “well-timed and aligns well with the current strategies of utilities around improving self-service portals and reducing their cost-to-serve.”

About Opower

Opower (NYSE: OPWR) is an enterprise software company that helps utilities elevate the customer experience. Energy providers use Opower's customer engagement platform to deliver proactive, digital communications that raise customer satisfaction, manage energy demand, and lower service costs. Opower's software is deployed to more than 95 utilities worldwide and reaches more than 50 million homes and businesses. For more information, please visit www.opower.com and follow us on Twitter at @Opower.

Forward-looking Statements
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