Monday, February 13, 2012

UtiliData finds more funding from Braemer

By Patricia Resende, Correspondent

Less than one week after announcing that it will relocate its business from Washington to Rhode Island and receiving $500,00 in state support, the soon-to-be Providence-based UtiliData Inc. has secured another round of funding, this time from a venture capital firm.

UtiliData, currently located in Spokane, Wash., received an “undisclosed amount” of funding from Boston’s Braemer Energy Ventures, which is a majority owner in UtiliData. The funds will help the company expand its AdaptiVolt product, according to an announcement by Braemer.

“We thought that the economics and consumer benefit for grid side applications like Volt/VAR are far better for AMI products,” Braemer Partner Scott DePasquale told Mass High Tech. “UtiliData had the leading solution in this space, with technology that was several years ahead of the competition.”

UtiliData’s AdaptiVolt optimization system helps energy companies to improve energy efficiency through its signal processing technology, which controls different devices on the electric distribution grid.

Braemer’s expertise in regulatory issues and portfolio of energy companies (including Boston-based EnerNOC) will be a boon to energy company, UtiliData CEO Ron Decker said in a release.

The funds come just six days after the Rhode Island Economic Development Corp. pumped money into the venture through its Renewable Energy Fund loan with the agreement that UtiliData will create a total of 47 full-time jobs in Rhode Island by the end of 2015. The company already agreed to bring eight to 15 of those full-time jobs to the Ocean State by the end of this year. The company will relocate to Providence on March 1.