Kraken has partnered with United Illuminating (UI), a subsidiary of Avangrid, Inc. to introduce an intelligent control and optimization solution for UI's customers. The project will enable households to reduce their energy consumption by 15-20% and grids to ease constraints caused by high demand, all without the customers having to lift a finger. Set to launch in June 2024, the pilot aligns with Connecticut's ambitious climate goal of a 45% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

Powered by Kraken's SmartFlex technology, UI customers will be able to optimize electric vehicles and heat pumps to efficiently minimize their energy usage. This allows the supplier to automatically match customers' energy usage to the greenest and cheapest times. Through this program, households can save as much as 30% on their monthly electric bills, the equivalent of $120-$200 per device.

Selected to participate in the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority's (PURA's) Innovative Energy Solutions Program, Kraken and UI will enable a decarbonized, affordable, and equitable electric grid while having the capability to minimize grid congestion during peak times. A 20% adoption among UI's customer base would bring more than 450 MW of flexible load to the Connecticut region, which could be strategically managed to take stress off the grid and prevent blackouts. This partnership follows the successful US launch of SmartFlex and licensing agreement with energy asset manager Tenaska in June 2023.

With Kraken currently orchestrating 155,000 domestic devices across the globe--totaling over 38.35 GW of contracted power--it stands as one of the largest residential virtual power plants in the world. Currently active in 18 countries, Kraken is on track to serve 100 million energy accounts on its platform by 2027, with 10% of these in North America.