Demand Response: Enhancing Cost Savings and Operational Efficiency for Five Star Call Centers
Technology Category
- Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Event-Driven Application
- Sensors - Utility Meters
Applicable Industries
- Education
- Electrical Grids
Use Cases
- Demand Planning & Forecasting
- Time Sensitive Networking
About The Customer
Five Star Call Centers is a leading call center outsourcer for customer care. They offer a full spectrum of care options, including voice, chat, email, interactive voice response (IVR), social media monitoring, and more. Power supply is critical to their operations, and they have built a solid reputation for providing consistent, reliable, and friendly customer care. To prevent service disruptions, they have an uninterruptible power supply on-site, as well as a backup generator. However, the generator was rarely used and there were monthly expenses to maintain it.
The Challenge
Five Star Call Centers, a leading call center outsourcer for customer care, faced a critical challenge with their power supply. The company had built a solid reputation for providing consistent, reliable, and friendly customer care, and any loss of power could severely disrupt their business. To prevent service disruptions, the company had an uninterruptible power supply on-site, as well as a backup generator. However, the generator was rarely used and incurred monthly expenses for its maintenance. The company needed a solution that could turn this idle resource into a revenue-producing, grid-interactive asset.
The Solution
GridPoint, a provider of grid-interactive generator solutions for automated demand response, offered a solution to Five Star Call Centers. They enrolled Five Star's generator in a demand response program, at no upfront cost to the company. GridPoint provided in-depth education on the savings opportunity, the installment and enrollment process, and the demand response operations. They also worked with an environmental consultant for permitting and to determine if emissions testing and upgrades were necessary. The final step was enrolling the site in the Xcel Energy demand response program. In case of an emergency situation or weather event, Xcel Energy would notify GridPoint, who would then signal to the generator the day and time that it needs to turn on, reducing the demand on the grid during that period.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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