Constellation works with customers on tailored solutions to achieve their sustainability goals while managing their energy and operational costs. For many large-scale efficiency projects, the cost of investments in infrastructure improvements are recovered through the ensuing energy cost savings.
Constellation uses audits, engineering, design, construction management, and long-term monitoring and analytics to design and implement projects for customers in healthcare, education, and government, among other industries. We optimize assets and leverage faster payback measures, such as lighting improvements, to help pay for investments with a slower rate of return.
In 2020, Constellation energy efficiency projects helped customers conserve more than 290,000 megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity and more than 1.3 million British thermal units (Btu) of natural gas, helping to avoid more than 280,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions.
Our Efficiency Made Easy® (EME) program is one example of our solutions geared towards small- and mid-sized business customers, where critical efficiency improvements often pose financial challenges. Through this program, customers save money and reduce energy consumption by incorporating the cost of efficiency projects into energy supply agreements, eliminating the need for upfront capital. Since 2011, Constellation has funded over $350 million of these projects for more than 500 customers. Those customers have collectively saved approximately 393,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity and avoided more than 278,000 metric tons of carbon emissions.
In addition, in early 2020, Constellation announced its acquisition of the Pear.ai platform, an energy intelligence platform that uses data analysis and artificial intelligence to help commercial and industrial customers manage their energy usage and costs and drive sustainability. The acquisition supports our strategy of developing and commercializing new technologies and engaging in strategic relationships to pilot new non-commodity products and solutions that benefit customers.
Pear.ai technology uses machine learning to process thousands of bills per week to identify bill anomalies, generate insights, and model predictive behavior. The Pear.ai platform sends customer alerts to correct issues proactively, eliminating the need to wait or pay additional fees for information from an account or support representative. With more than 10,500 customer meters currently using the Pear.ai platform, the technology has created meaningful savings for industrial, healthcare, retail, and higher education customers, among others.