Utilities play energy games with consumers

Knowledge is power. Perhaps this saying can be directly applied to the future of energy, as consumers show greater interest in renewable energy sources and basic education about the range of new energy sources emerging on the market. Whether it’s residential solar, electric vehicle charging, combined heat and power (CHP), battery storage microgrids and net metering, utilities need to better communicate with customers to retain them. This position is reinforced by numerous home energy management options that are simply staggering for the average energy consumer to understand. One way utilities can better connect with consumers is through gaming, a very lively sector judging by pre-orders Sony PlayStation 4 i Microsoft Xbox One console.

In the energy market, Solar power introduced the Solar Discovery game on Facebook to help promote solar energy through gamification that can lead to badges, points, rankings and rewards. Xcel Energy , which uses OPWER’s gaming solutions, uses gamification to engage customers, something private company Simple Energy is also a big player in. There will be a gamification summit in San Francisco next June, so this move to capture users’ attention through games seems to have staying power, and this is something that utility gamers cannot miss. This could bode well for an energy software analytics company APOGEE Interactive what already counts American electricity , Con Edison, Entergia AND South Company among their clients.

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The article Utilities Play Power Games with Consumers originally appeared on Fool.com.

John Licata has no position in any of the companies mentioned. You can follow John on Twitter @bluephoenixinc. The Motley Fool recommends Facebook and Southern Company. The Motley Fool owns shares of Facebook and Microsoft. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We fools may not all be of the same opinion, but we all believe that considering a variety of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.