North American Power launches product that predicts, categorizes customers' upcoming electricity usage

NORWALK, Conn., May 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- North American Power is now offering Understandabill, a free monthly energy report that provides its customers with a forecast of how much electricity they'll use in the upcoming month, a breakdown by category of how they're predicted to use that power and personalized tips on how they can use less. The report is understood to be the first of its kind outside of Texas, and is also the first to contain such forecasts and categorizations without requiring smart meter data. Understandabill is currently being sent via email each month to participating North American Power electricity customers in Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.

A customer can sign up for Understandabill by answering an 11-question survey about their home and energy use after first choosing an electricity supply plan online or over the phone. North American Power then uses a physics-based model that processes those answers along with over 300 data points on the customer's home, historical usage, weather patterns, other regional information and more to create the customer's home energy profile that's needed to generate their monthly reports.

"Many customers don't enjoy opening their electricity bill each month because they don't know what to expect, and some even dread it," said Greg Breitbart, North American Power's co-founder and chief marketing officer. "We're determined to change that by helping our customers anticipate not only what they'll be using and how they'll be using it, but also what they can do to impact what they'll owe before that next bill arrives."

North American Power also announced that to celebrate the launch of their new product, the first 500 customers that enroll at www.napower.com/understandabill and complete the survey will receive a free "Energy Efficiency Starter Kit". Each kit includes five LED light bulbs and a step-by-step guide on how Understandabill works. Breitbart said that while Understandabill offers savings recommendations that are tailored to each customer, "every home uses lighting, so switching to LED bulbs, which use 85% less energy than traditional incandescent bulbs, is an easy way for anyone to start saving right away."

Asked how he thought customers would respond to Understandabill, Breitbart said, "In beta testing, the level of customer engagement was incredible, and significantly exceeded our initial expectations. This is clearly resonating with our customers, and we're already working on enhancements to Understandabill.

"We're making energy simple for our customers not only because we want them to feel more at ease when opening that monthly bill, but also because we know it's something that can truly set us apart from the rest. Many of our competitors are now delivering value through innovative products like smart thermostats, solar, rewards programs and more. We're all battling for customers, but that's what competition is all about."

About North American Power: North American Power is a competitive electricity and natural gas supplier serving over 250,000 customers in 63 utility territories across 12 states. North American Power has been recognized by Forbes as one of America's Most Promising Companies and by Inc. Magazine as one of America's Fastest Growing Private Companies, and has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. For more information, visit www.napower.com.

For a visual aid on how Understandabill works, click here. 

For more on the Energy Efficiency Starter Kit promotion, visit www.napower.com/understandabill

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SOURCE North American Power