LONDON, January 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Ventyx(R), the world's largest private software, data and advisory services provider to the energy and utility industry, today announced availability of the Ventyx Smart Grid Operations (http://www1.ventyx.com/solutions/smart-grid.asp) solution in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region. An integral component of the first fully integrated SmartGridCity(TM) in Boulder, Colorado, the solution offers the only proven technology for successful integration of the commercial operations value chain for Smart Grids from portfolio optimization to customer program management.

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Ventyx is building upon the successes and lessons learned in Boulder and employing them for our utility customers in EMEA, said Ventyx VP, EMEA, Richard Jones. As a premier SmartGridCity partner, we have successfully implemented the Smart Grid Operations solution to transform diverse data from the Smart Grid into more accurate price and load forecasts and enable the connection of customer actions to the utility's trading portfolio operations and investment decisions. By providing this solution to our customers in EMEA, we can help them enhance the reliability of their grid as well, while also giving customers greater insight and control over their energy use, environmental footprint and overall energy economics.

The integrated Ventyx Smart Grid Operations software suite supports the commercial and retail utility operations required to deliver effective demand response (DR) programs, distributed energy management, renewable generation and resource optimization for successful Smart Grid deployments. It provides this capability by enabling utilities to aggregate customer-level DR and distributed generation (DG) into commercially actionable Virtual Power Plants. The solution also improves DR program management, effectively managing customer enrollment, device tracking and DR forecasting. Furthermore, Smart Grid Operations enables utilities to efficiently calculate and communicate price and environmental signals to customers, portals and load control programs. And, it provides advanced reporting capabilities for documenting program- and customer-level economic and environmental benefits, a key to meeting corporate and regulatory measurement and reporting requirements.

The Smart Grid Operations solution is available immediately from Ventyx and its certified reseller partners. For more information, contact your Ventyx sales representative or email sales@ventyx.com. Or, visit our Website at http://www1.ventyx.com/solutions/smart-grid.asp

Smart Grid Readiness Program

Xcel Energy recently rolled out the Ventyx Smart Grid Operations solution as part of the first phase of its SmartGridCity project, which has already realized some early benefits ( http://www.xcelenergy.com/Minnesota/Company/Newsroom/Pages/NewsRelease20... -08-SmartGridCitybecomesfirstfullyfunctioningsmartcityintheworld.aspx), including increased reliability and improved customer access to energy use information. Xcel Energy's SmartGridCity has been hailed (http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/aug/03/ofgem-smart-grid-cities) as a model for awards from Ofgem's pounds Sterling 500 million Low Carbon Networks Fund for large-scale trials of advanced technology and commercial initiatives.

In order to help energy companies in Europe understand how they can replicate this success, Ventyx has launched an exclusive Smart Grid Readiness Program. The program offers a VIP tour of SmartGridCity in Boulder, as well as a tour of Xcel Energy's Operations Center in Denver. The tour provides utilities with an overview and concrete examples of operating a Smart Grid built around key themes such as enabling optimized demand response and distributed generation on the distribution network, Virtual Power Plants and the involvement of technology partners in Smart Grid deployments.

The program also includes strategies for ensuring utilities receive part of the recently announced pounds Sterling 500 million Low Carbon Networks (LCN) Fund for large-scale trials of advanced technology and commercial initiatives. Ventyx has been engaged in helping clients with the U.S. American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), and the company has key resources in place to help utilities in the UK prepare their response to the Ofgem fund.

The environment in which utilities operate in EMEA is growing increasingly complex and constantly more demanding, but so are the opportunities for meeting these demands with funding from the Ofgem LCN fund, said Jones. Ventyx is uniquely qualified to help utilities navigate these new challenges. Not only have we been delivering successful solutions to this industry for more than 30 years; as a founding partner of the SmartGridCity Consortium, we have taken the lessons we learned in Boulder and are employing them as best practices in our Smart Grid Operations solution. As a result, we have the deep domain expertise necessary to help our clients ensure their next-generation electric grid offers the security, reliability and resiliency to meet their needs as well as the needs of their customers.

For more information on the Ventyx Smart Grid Readiness Program, contact Sarah Anstee at +44-1483-722777 or sarah.anstee@ventyx.com.

Additionally, interested parties can attend a Ventyx hosted seminar with the primary purpose of presenting the source-to-socket Smart Grid ecosystem and opportunities for utilities around Smart Grid and the Ofgem LCN fund in April 2009. The event will provide experts to discuss SmartGridCity and Xcel Energy, operations, Virtual Power Plants, linking generation to retail operations and the OFGEM LCN Fund. Contact Sarah Anstee at +44-1483-722777 or sarah.anstee@ventyx.com for details.

About Xcel Energy

Xcel Energy is a major U.S. electricity and natural gas company with regulated operations in eight Western and Midwestern states. Xcel Energy provides a comprehensive portfolio of energy-related products and services to 3.3 million electricity customers and 1.8 million natural gas customers through its regulated operating companies. Company headquarters are located in Minneapolis. More information is available at www.xcelenergy.com.

About Ventyx

Ventyx is a leading business solutions provider, delivering asset management, mobile workforce management, energy portfolio management, Smart Grid Operations, renewable energy and customer care solutions to more than 1,250 energy, utility and communications customers, as well as to asset-intensive customers in selected commercial markets. Ventyx delivers best-of-breed business solutions that maximize operational and financial performance, backed by the industry's deepest available industry-specific domain expertise. For more information, visit our Website at www.ventyx.com.

Ventyx is a registered trademark of Ventyx Inc. Other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.

SOURCE: Ventyx

CONTACT: Sarah Anstee, Ventyx Corporate Communications, +44-1483-722777,sarah.anstee@ventyx.com