Johnson Controls completes acquisition of California firm

Glendale-based Johnson Controls Inc. has completed its previously announced acquisition of EnergyConnect Group Inc., a Campbell, Calif.-based provider of smart grid demand response services and technologies. The estimated purchase price of the transaction was $32 million.
The acquisition enables Johnson Controls to help building owners and operators manage how much energy their buildings consume and when the energy is consumed – a critical feature of connecting smart buildings to the smart grid.
"One of our strategies at Johnson Controls Building Efficiency is to play a significant role in the growing market for demand response services by enabling smart buildings to interface seamlessly into the grid," said Dave Myers, vice president of Johnson Controls and president of the company’s Building Efficiency business. "With the acquisition of EnergyConnect, Johnson Controls now combines the power of building automation systems with an intuitive technology platform that provides our customers the ability to take action to capture demand response opportunities. This creates a new level of building intelligence."
Demand response refers to changes in electricity usage for buildings based on capacity, price or reliability signals from the electric grid. EnergyConnect’s demand response technology and service platform provides energy managers and facility operators real-time energy information and access to energy markets, enabling them to manage their energy usage.
"Johnson Controls recognized the benefits of EnergyConnect’s leadership in demand response technology," said Kevin Evans, former president and CEO of EnergyConnect. "We have experienced outstanding growth and customer adoption since the launch of our award-winning GridConnect platform last year. Through the Johnson Controls acquisition, we are now positioned to extend this reach to a significantly larger customer base and accelerate the transformation of energy use in response to market prices while enhancing grid reliability."
Evans will continue to lead the EnergyConnect team as vice president and general manager for Demand Response Services for Johnson Controls Building Efficiency.