By Scott Meacham
Copyright © 2018, The Oklahoman
Oklahoma continues to strive for a more diversified economy. As a state, we have historically depended too much on oil and gas. At the same time, we share a tremendous appreciation for and experience in the energy industry.
When entrepreneurs apply energy industry know-how toward new companies to leverage expertise and diversify Oklahoma’s economy, it’s a win-win.
That’s the story of Tulsa-based THG Energy Solutions. THG is an energy management software and data technology business that helps organizations improve energy efficiency, streamline the processing of utility bills and produce hard-dollar savings with improved bottom-line results.
“We help customers take control of their energy costs and create savings right away,” THG President Dan Frey said. “Our turnkey payment and processing of utility bills can cut processing costs in half while providing much more actionable information.”
THG deals with all types of companies to measure and manage energy savings and sustainability actions driven purely by economics. Over the past seven years, since the company was acquired and relocated to Tulsa, THG has scaled up its energy management software, integrating award-winning technology to help automate electricity reduction for peak load management.
THG’s ideal customer has numerous buildings and many energy bills to track — for example, school districts, universities, office buildings, health care facilities and large retail groups. The company serves customers in all 50 states, processing and paying bills for over 600 entities and more than 50,000 accounts per month.
Providing an enterprise platform as a service, THG collects data from electric utilities, water, gas, waste and recycling. On the electricity side, THG combines data from smart meters, IoT (internet of things) devices and other third-party systems.
“Most clients have no inner-operability of data,” Frey said. “The 1,200 utilities we deal with are data silos. We organize that data in one place and make it actionable.”
Organization and accessibility of energy data has been a stumbling block for energy efficiency and sustainability.
“The world is in the midst of a significant energy transformation,” Frey said. “For many entities, sustainability is becoming a core value. Renewables, distributed energy, and storage are disrupting the entire energy industry. Our customers need to find a way to better manage these, plus solar, and the electrification of lots of things. The first big step is getting control of actionable data.”
THG’s benefits aren’t limited to better data and reduced processing costs. Better management of real time energy usage and related utility demand charges is a significant opportunity for savings. THG has partnered with leading energy companies in deployment of its demand management technologies.
Having an Oklahoma-based company that helps customers manage their electricity demand in a way that is integrated into the market and responsive to what is going on with the energy grid, enhances our state’s leadership in the energy industry and helps diversify Oklahoma’s economy.
Scott Meacham is president and CEO of i2E Inc., a nonprofit corporation that mentors many of the state’s technology-based startup companies. i2E receives state support from the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology and is an integral part of Oklahoma’s Innovation Model. Contact Meacham at [email protected].
