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Kilowatt pitches opt‑in energy-shopping platform to Richmond; council asks for committee review
Summary
An energy provider demonstrated an AI-driven platform that shops retail electricity prices and asked the town for endorsement or a vetting committee; councilors asked about revenue model, regulatory risk and how the town would participate.
Richmond — James Grasso presented Kilowatt, an AI-powered platform that continuously shops retail electricity supply for residential and small commercial accounts, and asked the town to consider endorsing or launching a review committee to vet the product.
Grasso said the service only presents supplier offers that would save customers money versus the utility’s rate, and that participating suppliers pay a licensing fee to access the Kilowatt network. “The application puts everybody back to the utility” when market prices make the utility cheaper, he said, describing the service’s automatic market-tracking feature.
Councilors pressed on how Kilowatt makes money, potential regulation and whether the platform would lock residents into long contracts. Grasso said suppliers pay license fees, there is no direct cost to users, and the platform is opt‑in rather than opt‑out, differentiating it from some community-choice aggregation programs that enroll many customers automatically.
Councillors asked for time to vet the technology before any municipal endorsement; Grasso said Westerly has formed a committee to pilot the service and suggested a similar approach. The council did not endorse the product at the meeting and encouraged the vendor and staff to consider a formal review process.
The presentation highlighted differences between supply and delivery charges on utility bills and stressed that Kilowatt focuses on supply-market competition. No procurement or financial commitment was taken at the meeting.
