Leading Smart Grid Companies Join Forces to Launch the Smart Energy Demand Coalition in Brussels

Coalition Finds Active Participation by Energy Users Key to Achieving $52 Billion in Annual Consumer Benefits

BRUSSELS, November 15, 2010 - To highlight the critical role of energy users in the Smart Grid, leading
utilities, technology companies, and industry groups launched the Smart
Energy Demand Coalition (SEDC) today at a press conference at the European
Union's Strategic Energy Technology Plan Conference. SEDC members include
founding members eMeter and VaasaETT, as well as Landis+Gyr, EDF (EDF.FR),
ENEL (ENEL.MI), Gas Natural Fenosa (BMAD: GAS), the Climate Group, Vodafone
(LSE: VOD, Nasdaq: VOD), Universidad Comillas (Madrid), the European Smart
Meter Investment Group, the Demand Response and Smart Grid (DRSG) coalition,
The Peak Load Management Alliance (PLMA), Capgemini (Euronext: CAP),
Entelios, Jouleasset, Schneider Electric (Euronext: SU), the ZigBee Alliance
and Silver Spring Networks.

The SEDC is a not-for-profit industry association based in Brussels and
consisting of utilities, electricity retailers, and providers of services and
technologies related to demand response, energy efficiency, smart meters and
smart grids. The Coalition is willing to share expertise and information with
industry participants, regulators and policymakers, media and consumer
associations regarding the deployment of smart meters and communications
systems seeking to enable energy providers to offer their customers
time-based rates with off-peak discounts, thereby allowing consumers to save
on their electricity bills by varying their demand in response to price
signals. Additional benefits are provided by smart grids, which automate
substations and circuits used for electricity distribution.

The association will be led by Executive Director Jessica Stromback,
currently a Senior Partner at global energy think tank VaasaETT. Chris King,
founder of DRSG, a similar group in the United States, and a leading industry
expert who has spoken at several industry events in Europe as well as
testifying before the U.S. Congress on smart energy demand and smart meters,
will initially chair the SEDC.

"Regulators across Europe are presently debating and finalizing
requirements for smart meter and smart grid deployments, including the
platforms on which demand response and energy efficiency programs will be
built, helping influence the ability of electricity customers to contribute
to the advancement of the EU's aggressive 2020 climate change objectives,"
said Stromback. "Our goal is to provide useful information on price
responsive loads, program and technology experience, market structures and
rules, including information on market participants' roles, consumer needs
and actions, enabling technologies, and specific programs as appropriate."

Balancing consumption with generation could be said to form the heart of
the intelligence of the Smart Grid. To a certain extent the success of the
"smart" grid is therefore dependent on the ability of utilities to make
energy demand "smart", using such tools as feedback, pricing, automation etc.
Despite their central position within a new Smart Grid future - European
demand centered programs are lagging well behind other global markets.

Billions of Euros are currently being spent on the development and
rollout of a variety of Smart Grid related technologies throughout Europe.
These include Smart Metering, wind generation, solar generation, electric
vehicles and heat pumps etc. Yet in comparison to the funding,
standardization initiatives, regulation, publicity and special interest
activity surrounding and supporting these technologies - relatively little
attention is paid to the development and support of the demand side programs
which will be essential for successfully integrating them into the grid - and
are the heart of the Grid's "intelligence".

"As we've seen in numerous Smart Meter pilots and rollouts throughout
Europe, technological development without, program development, cannot
provide adequate customer benefits to justify costs," said Chris King, Chief
Regulatory Officer at eMeter. "eMeter has several projects in Europe and has
been working with regulators in EU countries on smart meter and related best
practices. We are excited about putting the focus on consumers and the
benefits created by smart energy demand."

The SEDC has an annual smart energy demand conference for all industry
participants to share success stories and learnings in programs ranging from
pilots to large-scale rollouts. The SEDC also has members-only meetings for
EU program and policy planning and development, quarterly information sharing
and networking webinars, an extensive database of demand side research and
consumer-related information, and regular communications, including a
bimonthly organization newsletter and special bulletins on policy and
industry developments.

About SEDC

The Smart Energy Demand Coalition (SEDC) is a European trade association
for companies that provide products and services in the areas of demand
response and smart grid. The SEDC works to raise awareness on how demand
response and smart grid technologies can help modernize our electricity
system and provide customers with new information and options for managing
their electricity use.

About VaasaETT

The VaasaETT, a Global Energy Think Tank, shares and develops best
practice for the global utilities industry through our network of thousands
of senior executives, officials, researchers and other experts who are for
the most part known and trusted personally. Value is provided to partners
through the synergy of Interactive Forums and Collaborative Research or
Market Development Projects. The Think-Tank focuses broadly on strategic
business, market, innovation and regulatory issues, and is world renowned for
its expertise in fields such as Customer Psychology & Behaviour, Smart
Metering and Demand Response.

About eMeter

eMeter provides essential software that enables electric, gas and water
utilities to realize the full benefits of Smart Grid. Leading utilities
worldwide depend on eMeter Smart Grid Management software to reduce
operational costs, improve customer service, and drive energy efficiency.
With the most large-scale deployments in the industry and strategic
partnerships with Accenture, IBM, Logica, and Siemens, eMeter has built a
reputation for unparalleled expertise that ensures customer success.

Kyle Arteaga of eMeter, +1-415-218-5569, kyle.arteaga at emeter.com; or Nicolas Muzi of Weber Shandwick, +32-2894-9044, nmuzi at webershandwick.com, for eMeter