Power Player

Electricity startup puts its Houston customers on the grid

Griddy, lead by CEO Greg Craig, is making a surge in Texas by disrupting the state's outdated electricity plan. Courtesy of Griddy

In 2015, Greg Craig looked into Texas' wholesale energy industry and a light bulb went on over his head. He realized that the way consumers were delivered power was opaque and misleading. The electricity industry is one of the few areas that the tech boom hasn't yet infiltrated. That is, until Griddy came along, launching in Houston in the spring of 2017.

"Technology has changed and bettered everything in life," says Craig, Griddy CEO and co-founder, who compares Griddy to likes of Amazon, Uber, and Costco. "Our thesis was, 'what if we could build a tech platform that would connect the home directly to the grid?'"

Instead of profiting off hidden fees and fixed prices, Griddy provides customers wholesale electricity prices and promises to be open, honest, and transparent. Rather than charging inflated rates, the company only makes a profit from the $9.99 monthly membership fees. Everything else is at cost — no margins, hidden fees, or break fees. This all translates to savings of up to 30 percent, says Craig, who co-founded Griddy with executive chairman, Nick Bain.

Electricity of the future
Griddy customers are connected directly to their smart meter which records electricity use and communicates this information to the home owner's electricity supplier

Customers can download and use the Griddy app and get a by-the-second update of the wholesale price so that they know when the price spikes and it's time to turn off unnecessary energy suckers. The app also offers 36-hour forecast to give consumers an idea of what the wholesale price will be at a specific time.

The mobile aspect of Griddy is a large draw as consumers increasingly use their phones and do everything online or in-app. From the transparent prices to the mobile app, Griddy's features have been well received by millennials, a generation drawn to companies that stand out and are committed to strong corporate values that put the customer first and offer low prices.

This month, Griddy launched a new app, Griddy Guest, that allows non-members a chance to test the benefits of Griddy before becoming a member. "We understand people may be a little cautious of switching to a new type of energy provider so we created Griddy Guest to allow people to access the perks and track their potential savings before completely switching over to becoming a Griddy member," says Craig.

Consumers can use the app for free, view the current wholesale price of electricity and projected prices using your zip code, and receive an estimate of savings from using Griddy in comparison to the average rate for their location, house type, and weather zone.

"We're trying to be disruptive and innovative and do things no one's ever done," Craig tells InnovationMap. "No one's ever done 'we'll tell you exactly what we make,' no one's ever done 'here's real time wholesale,' no one's ever provided mobile app information like this by the second, and now no one's ever done 'be our guest, be our guest, put our service to the test', and now we've done it."

What's next?
Griddy, which is only in Texas, is continuing to spread into deregulated markets with sights set on the East Coast in the first half of 2019, to be closely followed by an international move to the United Kingdom, Australia, and Japan. The company is also pursuing machine-learning artificial intelligence to handle optimal time for power use, a technology that would automatically adjust power use for consumers during price spikes. This type of feature would be connected directly to households, closely monitoring the price of electricity to save consumers even more money.

Overall, Griddy has made a large footprint with its launch in Texas and is currently in 39 different cities within the state. The company hopes to continue to turn consumers to wholesale electricity over traditional overpriced fixed energy plans to disrupt the industry and save individuals money.

Feel the surge

Griddy users can enable push notifications that alert them of surge pricing so they can turn off any large appliances to avoid excess charges.

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Building Houston

 
 

Just a few of the many SXSW events you should add to your agenda. Photo via SXSW

Editor's note: SXSW has officially taken over Austin, and it can be a bit chaotic to try to make the most of the goings on. Here are a few things for Houston innovators to check out — panels, houses, happy hours, and more.

Friday, March 10, to Monday, March 13 — Funded House

Funded House, is on a mission to help funded startup leaders navigate the difficult task of growing their business; through an integrated series of meetups, lounges, panels and parties.

The house is open from Friday, March 10, to Monday, March 13, at 201 E 5th St. Startups and VCs need to apply for entry. Badges aren't required. Learn more.

Friday, March 10, to Tuesday, March 14 — Capital Factory House

Capital Factory is again hosting tons of events at its office. Don't miss the annual startup crawl on Friday, March 10, starting at 5 pm.

The events are happening from Friday, March 10, to Monday, March 13, at Capital Factory (701 Brazos St). Badges aren't required, but the crawl asks for RSVPs. Learn more.Learn more.

Friday, March 10 — DivInc presents "Just Us"

Join DivInc for an engaging conversation with leading BIPOC venture capitalists in the tech space as we have a frank discussion revolving around how its BIPOC VC community is helping founders reach their goals, and get real about how we can do better.

The event is from 5:30 to 8:30 at Brown Advisory (200 W 6th St.) Badges aren't required, but RSVPs are. Learn more.

Saturday, March 11, and Sunday, March 12 — The 15th Annual SXSW Pitch Competition

Announcing 40 finalists for the 15th annual SXSW Pitch competition, presented by ZenBusiness and supported by Collins Aerospace, representing the most cutting-edge technologies from across the globe at SXSW 2023.

The pitch competition is taking place Saturday, March 11, and Sunday, March 12, at the Hilton Hotel (fourth floor). Badges are required to attend. Learn more.

The SXSW Pitch Showcase is from 10 am to noon on Monday, March 13, at the Hilton Hotel (fourth floor). Badges are required to attend. Learn more.

Saturday, March 11, and Sunday, March 12 — Energizing Health

Energizing Health @ SXSW 2023 brings together an historic digital gathering of passionate health advocates to work on innovation problems. Energizing Health creates opportunities and connects partners to make health more fair and equitable for everyone, starting with people facing disproportional injury.

The programming takes place on Saturday, March 11, and Sunday, March 12, at The Line (111 E Cesar Chavez). Badges are required. Learn more.

Sunday, March 12, to Tuesday, March 14 — Shell House

Shell returns to SXSW this year with its three-day activation that focuses on thought leadership on reaching the goal of Net-Zero by 2050, plus entertainment, recharge stations, displays, and more.

The house is open from Sunday, March 12, to Tuesday, March 14, at Antone's (305 E 5th St.). Badges are required. Learn more.

Sunday, March 12 — Ground Zero: Creating Pathways from Research to Scale Deployment and HETI happy hour

The Greater Houston Partnership's Houston Energy Transition Initiative has organized a panel of Houston experts to discuss the energy transition.

Panelists:

  • Dr. Paul Cherukuri, Vice President for Innovation, Rice University
  • Juliana Garaizar, Chief Development & Investment Officer, Greentown Labs
  • Dr. Tara Karimi, Co-Founder and CTO, Cemvita Factory
  • Moderator: Jane Stricker, Executive Director, Houston Energy Transition Initiative (HETI)
The panel is Sunday, March 12, at 4 pm at the Austin Marriott Downtown (Waller Ballroom D). Badges are required.
Following the panel at 5 pm is the Energy Innovators Happy Hour at Moontower Hall Foyer. Learn more.

Monday, March 13 — Houston House

Join Houston industry leaders and startup founders for a series of thought provoking panels on today’s most prominent topics in tech. Relax in our lounge space, attend a session, and don't forget to stop by in the evening for the GHP's cocktail reception from 5:30 to 7 pm.

The programming takes place on Monday, March 13, at The Line (111 E Cesar Chavez), from 10 am to 5 pm. Badges are required. Learn more.

Monday, March 13 — Founded in Texas

Project W, The Artemis Fund, HearstLab, and Brown Advisory have joined forces to bring you Founded in Texas, an investor feedback session designed to support Texas-based female founders of B2B and B2B2C technology companies.

The programming takes place on Monday, March 13, at Brown Advisory (200 W 6th St., Suite 1700). Badges aren't required. Learn more.

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