The acquisition of Toronto's EnergyX Solutions Inc. by Tucker, Ga.-headquartered Apogee Interactive Inc. provides the final piece of a solution to steer utility customers toward decarbonization programs and rebates, according to Apogee’s CEO.

Acquired in February alongside two U.S. companies, energyOrbit and AIQUEOUS, EnergyX offers software known as MyEnergyXpert for educating utility customers in residential and commercial buildings about private and public energy-efficiency incentives such as rebate programs. It also offers products that identify retrofit opportunities (Retrofit AI) and conduct household energy audits (Home Energy Reports).

Jon Ezrine, who spoke to Sustainable Biz Canada, said the ongoing transformation in the energy sector and utility industry toward decarbonization means utilities “need a better way to engage with their customers in order to drive initiatives with these customers to deal with all of these changes they’re having in the marketplace.”

By placing EnergyX, energyOrbit and AIQUEOUS under the Apogee umbrella, it synergizes all four companies’ solutions that teach or aid utility customers in navigating sustainability and energy efficiency programs, he said.

About EnergyX and Apogee

Using AI and machine learning, EnergyX’s software-as-a-solution takes a customer’s address and predicts what kind of incentive programs from governments or companies would best suit their needs, based on the location and type of building or business. Those programs include energy savings and electrification, and help for low-income customers.

This helps target the customers that would be the “perfect adopters of a given program,” according to Ezrine, and where those programs would provide the greatest savings.

Once the clients are engaged with the programs, EnergyX educates them via online portals with education tools to ensure they understand the initiatives and economics behind the upgrades. It then helps utility clients sign up and manage the program enrollment.

EnergyX’s clients are split evenly between Canada and the U.S., Ezrine said. Canadian clients include Enbridge, BC Hydro and Efficiency Manitoba. In the U.S., EnergyX counts the Southern California Public Power Authority, Energy New England and Belmont Light as customers.

Ezrine would not disclose the total impact of EnergyX across energy savings or dollar value, but said customers are seeing improvements in adoption of the decarbonization programs.

Synergizing an end-to-end solution with EnergyX

Its platform caught the attention of Apogee, a company which develops software to help utility customers understand their energy consumption and find energy efficiency upgrades with explanatory videos. Apogee sought an “end-to-end” solution to fill in the gaps in its offering, and believes it has found one in EnergyX.

energyOrbit and AIQUEOUS by contrast focus on program management – workflow automation to help utilities enroll customers into the energy efficiency and rebate programs.

“Our belief was by putting all these companies together, that we could build a better suite of products to drive this end-to-end customer engagement for utilities,” Ezrine said.

Apogee had a “small amount” of customer engagement in Canada prior to the buyout of EnergyX, and will expand its footprint with the acquisition. The merger also makes it easier for EnergyX to support its U.S. clients, Ezrine added, making it a win-win for both sides.

EnergyX’s staff was left unchanged after the acquisition, the Apogee CEO added.

“Joining the extended Apogee team is a great fit for EnergyX, as we specialize in customer journey software for utility customers, streamlining the identification of ideal targets for energy savings programs,” Nishaant Sangaavi, president of EnergyX, said in a release.

Ezrine said Apogee will be bringing the EnergyX service to its other customers under a suite of products in one package that includes energyOrbit and AIQUEOUS.

He also hopes to further invest in the data analytics capabilities of EnergyX to drive better decision-making and outcomes for its utility customers.

Apogee also plans to rebrand itself later this month in the wake of the acquisitions, Ezrine said.