Brief: Wireless technology enlisted to zap California blackouts

Californians have a new weapon in their battle against the energy crunch: real-time wireless notification of impending energy shortfalls. Armed with information provided by email or cell phone alerts, Californians can take conservation actions, deal with potential power outages and help prevent disruptive rolling blackouts.

Led by the staff of the Governor's Office and aided by Deloitte Consulting, the State of California has introduced wireless notification features to the My California State Internet portal (www.my.ca.gov) and built this functionality into the state's Flex Your Power Internet site, which is hosted on the portal. As a result, visitors to the Flex Your Power energy Website (www.flexyourpower.ca.gov) can register and receive real-time information on the status of the state's energy challenge that's disseminated directly to wireless devices.

"Our new wireless services are an extension of the Governor's eGovernment initiative. Here, we're using the power of technology to help keep citizens informed and help avert potentially crippling blackouts," said Arun Baheti, Director of e-government for California. "When the state faces a shortfall, every bit counts. Wireless notifications will tell subscribing citizens, in real time, when they need to turn down air conditioners, appliances and lights to help conserve electricity."

The Flex Your Power Website is sponsored by the California Department of Information Technology. Deloitte Consulting, which serves as systems integrator for the My California Internet portal, has helped the state provide personalized information on a variety of government services by developing wireless upgrades for the portal.

The new wireless features are made possible by the integration of KANA Connect software with the personalization engine of BroadVision One-To-One Enterprise, which powers the My California portal. This integration allows personalized information to be sent wirelessly to users, based on their individual preferences.