Smart frames to track utility costs for Burbank residents
The devices display water and power usage for Burbank Water &; Power customers.
Burbank Leader: 7.08.2012 by Kelly Corrigan

A small group of Burbank residents soon will be equipped with digital picture frames that display not just family snapshots, but also how much energy and water they are using — and how much money it's costing them.

The year-long project piloted by Burbank Water and Power follows the lead of the utility's counterpart in Glendale, which launched a similar project earlier this year

Officials hope awareness among customers of their personal energy and water consumption could spur more people to conserve, helping utilities meet statewide energy goals.

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Made by Burbank-based Ceiva Logic, the frames communicate with smart meters to display graphs showing how many gallons of water are used each day of the week. Energy can be tabulated on an hourly, daily or weekly basis. READ MORE !

BWP - Smart Meters & Facebook

Smart meters join Facebook
Burbank customers can compare their energy usage via the social networking site.
Burbank Leader: 4.03.2012 by Jason Wells

A Facebook application that allows smart-meter customers to gauge how much energy they're using compared to others went live Tuesday, Burbank officials announced.

Burbank Water and Power customers can connect their utility accounts to the Opower app via Facebook and see how they stack up to others in terms of energy consumption.

The app plays into what city officials have said is a key element of the smart meters — the ability of customers to track their consumption in near real time to better control costs.

Burbank Water and Power is one of the first utility companies to join the pilot program featuring Opower, which will allow roughly 4 million energy users from California to Chicago to create competitions and share insight. READ MORE !