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2021.11.5

Power-saving app that provides a game-like experience, “Eco-Denki App” wins “SDGs Special Award” in MCPC Award 2021

-Achieving power savings of 233,237 kWh and a CO2 reduction of 122 tons with power-saving app to promote SDGs-

 

SB Power Corp.
Encored Japan Inc.

SB Power Corp. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo, President & CEO: Akihiko Nakano, “SB Power”) and Encored Japan Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo, President & CEO: Akihiko Nakano, “Encored”) are pleased to announce that the “Eco-Denki App” has won the “SDGs Special Award” in the MCPC Award 2021 (sponsored by the Mobile Computing Promotion Consortium). The app helps customers save electricity and money in a fun way, like playing a game, on their smartphones.

 

 

 

■About the “Eco-Denki App”

“Eco-Denki App” is an app offered by SB Power that allows customers to save electricity and money using a system based on Encored’s patent technology*1. The app was released in July 2020 as a value added service*2 to help customers easily address the challenge of saving electricity and money, especially for those who felt their electricity bills increased as they spent more time at home to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The number of users is steadily increasing, contributing to energy savings and a reduction in CO2 emissions.

 

■SB Power initiatives

SB Power is offering “Eco-Denki App” to its “SoftBank-Denki”*3 customers free of charge. In addition, to encourage more customers to save electricity, SB Power has developed a user interface enabling one-touch registration, and is implementing push notifications sent at the optimal timing for each customer to help them efficiently save electricity, providing a user experience unique to smartphone apps that is completely different from the traditional household electricity-saving services using email. Since its launch in July 2020, the app has been frequently updated and improved. This initiative has achieved electricity savings of 233,237 kWh and a reduction of CO2 emission of 122 tons. *4

 

■Encored initiatives

As an energy tech corporation, Encored is taking on the challenge of developing technologies that enable what was considered to be difficult to achieve in the past, such as household electricity-saving services. In June 2020, Encored started offering a DR system that could be introduced by electricity retailers without large-scale system development, with the aim of providing solutions to the challenges faced by electricity retailers, including SB Power, and satisfying customer needs to save electricity and money. Encored will also aim to develop patent technologies taking advantage of its experience in developing commercial electricity IoT products and cloud services in order to provide energy services with unique value to electricity retailers.

In recognition of these initiatives, SB Power and Encored were awarded the “SDGs Special Award” in the MCPC Award 2021. Taking on the challenge of achieving the goal of “Carbon Neutral 2030”*5 set by SoftBank Corp., SB Power and Encored will continue to promote the development of energy services that are both close to home and affordable. The two companies will achieve this by utilizing the latest smartphone services and content of SoftBank Corp. and its group companies, and by utilizing electricity big data analysis technology based on AI (Artificial Intelligence).

 

■About the MCPC Awards

The MCPC Awards have been held since 2003 to honor and award successful cases of building advanced systems by introducing mobile computing, with remarkable results in “business efficiency”, “cost reductions”, “sales expansion”, “performance improvement” and/or “effective utilization of mobile, IoT and AI technology”.

 

*1	A demand response core system for electricity retailers that uses a patent technology (Demand Response Management System that includes a Scheduling Function, filed on July 24, 2018 and officially registered in January 2020 by the Japan Patent Office). For more information, please see the press release released by Encored Japan Inc. dated June 18, 2020.
*2	SB Power asks subscribing customers to save electricity via a dedicated smartphone app. Customers who cooperate in saving electricity will receive PayPay bonuses based on the amount of electricity they have saved. PayPay bonuses can also be used at the official PayPay store. Bonuses cannot be withdrawn or transferred.
*3	The three applicable plans include “Ouchi Denki”, “Shizen Denki” and “Kurashi Denki”.
*4	See here for more information.
*5	See here for more information.