Saving Money Making Money

There is still a market for starting and possibly even IPOing companies if they can save others money and have a revenue stream. Forbes has an article that focuses on Silver Spring and mentions a few other similar companies that are doing OK in the current climate. And in this climate doing OK, is great!

Silver Spring's products will save electric power companies money in multiple ways and allow their customers to save power as well. The power meter gives up-to the minute data to the power company on power usage at a residence. The customers can then view up to the minute usage on the web and change their habits to save money because of the instant feed back. Everyone wins, except for the meter readers who are out of a job.

The customers win because they get the feed back needed to cut their power usage. The power company doesn't have to pay meter readers to drive around and collect meter readings. And if enough customers cut peak power usage then power companies don't have to fund the cost of building new power plants just to satisfy peak demand a few days a year. These savings to the power company also equate to helping the environment and cutting carbon emissions. Which in my book makes this green technology even though that isn't mentioned in the main article.