WASHINGTON, DC – February 18, 2009 – Ice Energy®, the leading provider of distributed energy storage and smart grid solutions for optimizing energy system efficiency, has earned the highest mark ever recorded for smart grid readiness from the prestigious SGN Smart Grid Scorecard from Smart Grid News.

The announcement was made at the National Energy Delivery Forum in Washington, D.C., where Ice Energy is a sponsor of the NARUC winter committee meetings in conjunction with the National Energy Delivery Forum.

The SGN Smart Grid Scorecard is an independent appraisal of the smart grid readiness of products and systems against benchmarks and attributes outlined by standards bodies. Categories include security, manageability, scalability, extensibility, potential impact, openness and more. With a score of 90 out of a possible 100 points, Ice Energy is the first company to score 90 or higher since the scorecard began in early 2008.

In the SGN Smart Grid Scorecard report released February 2, 2009, author Erich Gunther of EnerNex noted, “Few methods of thermal storage could be simpler or more directly usable” than Ice Energy’s Ice Bear distributed energy storage system. “Few demand reduction technologies have lower impact on end-customer perception yet a higher impact on utility operations,” he added.

Gunther identified the ability of a utility to deploy units surgically, tactically or strategically across the power grid as “an advantage of this particular thermal storage system.” He wrote, “The utility could target known problem locations, feeders or zones in their system, improving localized stability and grid conditions.”

The report noted that the large-scale deployment of Ice Energy’s solutions (up to hundreds of Megawatts of capacity) will further enable utilities to defer planned grid enhancements for feeders, substations, and/or transmission and distribution systems, as well as avoiding investment in new peak-matching generation.

In an editorial follow up to the report, SGN wrote, “Utilities looking for ‘shovel-ready’ projects to gain funding from the stimulus need to look no further than Ice Energy for a project that addresses key problems while immediately putting installers to work.”

Ice Energy offers utilities a compelling value proposition that transforms integrated system efficiency by using cleaner, less expensive, and more thermally efficient off-peak power to produce and store energy for use during peak demand periods.

“This strong, positive analysis from a respected, independent source like SGN further reinforces our message to utilities that we have a proven, reliable and cost-effective solution that is both truly transformational and ready to deploy today,” said Chris Hickman, Senior Vice President of Ice Energy.” It is a validation of our teams’ work over the past several years to perfect a field-proven system that not only exceeds regulatory cost effectiveness and reliability tests, but also supports utility environmental initiatives for reduced carbon emissions and the integration of intermittent renewables such as wind and solar.”

Ice Energy’s record high SGN Smart Grid Scorecard grade was announced just a week after the company’s Ice Bear distributed energy storage system was named “Green Building Innovation of the Year” by an independent judging committee comprised of ASHRAE engineers.

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About Ice Energy

Ice Energy is transforming energy system efficiency and reliability by helping utilities intelligently manage their load profile. The company offers cost-effective smart grid system solutions that integrate proven distributed energy storage, closed loop two-way control, and permanent peak load shifting as a renewable portfolio resource.

With Ice Energy's innovative solution, utilities improve reliability and customer service by reshaping load curves, improving asset utilization, and integrating intermittent renewable resources. Ice Energy provides utilities with a reliable solution for leveling the load profile, controlling costs, and transitioning to a cleaner, smarter, and more sustainable energy system. For more information, visit www.ice-energy.com.