ATLANTA—April 29, 2019—Urjanet, the global leader in utility data aggregation, today announced the winners of its 2019 SPARK Awards: AvidXchange, Bright Power, SimpleBills and Guppy – four companies at the forefront of using utility bill data to better serve their customers, community partners, and the environment. Urjanet presented the awards at its annual customer conference, SPARK, where industry leaders convened for engaging presentations and educational workshops focused on how to put utility data to work.
“We salute all of the progressive brands who submitted nominations for the first annual SPARK Awards, and the trails they are blazing by implementing cutting-edge solutions using utility data,” said Sanjoy Malik, CEO of Urjanet. “This year’s winners exemplify innovation at the highest levels, whether achieving quantified progress on climate action or expanding financial inclusion for the underbanked. Urjanet is proud to collaborate with such innovators and collectively make a difference in the world for companies, institutions, and consumers alike.”
“This year’s winners exemplify innovation at the highest levels, whether achieving quantified progress on climate action or expanding financial inclusion for the underbanked.”
Evaluated by a distinguished panel of experts including Marilyn Brown, Nobel laureate and director of the Climate and Energy Policy Lab at Georgia Tech, and Tommy Marshall, interim director of FinTech Catalyst at ATDC, the SPARK Award winners by category are:
- Leader in Energy & Sustainability: AvidXchange. Judges recognized AvidXchange for its ability to help customers better manage utility spend at any and all of their locations, down to the meter level. By helping more than 300 of the largest commercial organizations in the U.S. gain heightened awareness of energy usage and opportunities for savings, AvidXchange stood out for eliminating exorbitant staff cost and paper waste, along with its ability to negotiate and solicit bids on behalf of clients to meet their specific energy requirements.
- Leader in Community Engagement: Bright Power. “Turning Data Into Action,” a report published by Building Energy Exchange, Bright Power, and Sustainable Energy Partnerships resonated with the SPARK judges. Analyzing nearly 16,000 data sets filed by New York City (NYC) buildings, the report found that implementing recommended efficiency retrofits would immediately reduce multifamily energy use in NYC by 11% and have a simple payback of less than six years. The massive data set was organized to enable building decision makers to better understand their options at critical milestones, thereby breaking down barriers for those who lack a building science background.
- Most Innovative Use of Utility Data: SimpleBills. By leading the utility management industry in resident support experience, completely eliminating utility support costs for its properties, and reducing resident support costs by 83%, SimpleBills earned winning marks from the judges. In addition to utility bill management, residents can use SimpleBills to report their utility bill payment history to credit bureaus through a unique opt-in service. Driving both energy savings and financial inclusion, SimpleBills has truly transformed the use of utility data.
- Leader in Financial Inclusion: Guppy. Judges recognized Guppy for its innovative and unique platform to enable consumers and small businesses to build and own their data profile. Through its partnership with Urjanet to acquire user-permissioned utility data, Guppy enables greater access to financial services for consumers, as well as background and ID checks for businesses, all while keeping the end user in control of their own data.
“The SPARK Awards recognize a select group of companies that have taken solutions from Urjanet, combined with their own ingenuity, to significantly transform and improve their own processes and that of their customers,” commented Marilyn Brown, 2019 SPARK Awards judge and Director of the Climate and Energy Policy Lab at Georgia Tech. “This year’s winners stand out for their leadership and commitment to drive tangible improvements in their utility data initiatives by aligning processes, innovative technology, data sources and compliance standards.”
Other 2019 SPARK Award finalists included: Siemens, The Weir Group, EnergyCAP, Sustainable Tulsa, THG Energy Solutions, eCredable, Affordable Community Energy Services Company (ACE), and EnergyPrint. The SPARK Awards were unveiled at Urjanet’s annual SPARK conference event, April 25-26, which featured speakers from TransUnion, Kabbage, Equifax, the EPA, and Accenture addressing topics focused on the power of utility data at scale to help transform credit scoring, identity verification and optimizing energy performance.
For more information about SPARK or the SPARK Awards, visit https://urjanetspark.com/.
About Urjanet
Urjanet unlocks the power of utility invoice and interval data by connecting to a global network of over 6,000 electric, natural gas, water, and waste providers, and delivering aggregated, normalized information to meet an organization’s exact utility data needs. We simplify how organizations access and use utility data, enabling you to focus on your business. For more information, visit urjanet.com.