The Pacific Northwest Smart Grid Demonstration Project is being carried out by KEMA in collaboration with NorthWestern Energy. As part of the project, approximately 200 Montana utility customers will be connected to the smart grid. KEMA will be also installing the home area network or HAN equipment.

Apart from managing the innovative educational components of the campaign, KEMA will work with customers on equipment use and benefits. KEMA is a global provider of business and technical consulting, testing and certification for the energy industry.

The U.S. Department of Energy has funded the Pacific Northwest Smart Grid Demonstration Project which is worth $178 million. New technologies like distributed automation or DA and conservation voltage reduction or CVR will be tested and measured in this project. Analytical tools for the smart grid will be also tested and measured. Customers will be also able to measure and impact their own energy consumption.

Customer usage changes and acceptance of smart grid capabilities will be affected with KEMA's educational tools and resources. Apart from specifically testing DA and CVR, NorthWestern Energy will test energy savings associated with demand response or DR and load control. Tendril Network's Tendril Connect will be deployed by NorthWestern for energy insight, choice and control across various communication channels.

In a release, John Masiello, senior director at KEMA said, “By partnering with NorthWestern Energy and Tendril Networks, we are confident this project will provide a critical baseline that will guide Montana into the smart grid age. Customer education is an essential cornerstone of the energy industry's smart grid transition.”

According to Masiello, a firm understanding of customers' needs and behaviors is very important. Closer relationships with their customers have been built by many utilities across the world with help from KEMA. The company looks forward to advancing the state of retail energy in Montana.

Customers will receive real-time data and notification of DR events with the new HAN equipment. Energy use can be managed by this information. This information can be also used to remotely control any connected device or appliance.