DALLAS, Jul 18, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- TXU Energy has taken its smartphone solutions to the third power for Texas electricity customers. Just a few weeks after celebrating the first year of its iPhone(R) app and optimized mobile website, the company has released the new TXU Energy Android(TM) application. The new app is available for free via Play Store and will soon be in the Amazon Appstore, and it makes TXU Energy one of the few electricity providers in Texas to connect customers with Android smartphones directly with their electricity accounts, payment options, usage and, potentially, their thermostats.
The new app reflects TXU Energy's commitment to providing electricity customers with self-service capabilities and innovation via the Web-based and wireless devices they already use day-to-day. It is also the company's latest step in serving a growing mobile customer base. Since launching its iPhone app and mobile website last year, TXU Energy has seen traffic to its mobile solutions more than double and continue to grow. In that same time frame, the company also reports more than 800,000 account logins and one million wireless transactions, as well as more than 60,000 downloads of its iPhone app.
Like its iPhone app, the TXU Energy Android app allows customers to pay bills, review usage, compare previous bills and set holds on their thermostats if they use the Brighten(SM) iThermostat, another energy savings solution from TXU Energy. Both apps connect customers with their accounts using their TXU Energy MyAccount login details. They provide instant auto-sync between customers' smartphones and their online TXU Energy accounts so that any changes they make via the app are reflected in their online accounts and vice versa. TXU Energy charges no fees to download or use them.
TXU Energy developed the new app in direct response to customer demand and ongoing growth in popularity of smartphones running on either Google's Android or Apple's iOS operating systems. According to International Data Corporation, this past quarter, more than 82 percent of all smartphones shipped globally run on one of the two operating systems, and this market share is up more than 200 percent, year over year.
"Our new Android app is the latest development in our mission to innovate our business with convenient technology tools that can help our customers understand how much electricity they're using at home and how they can use less of it to save money," said Jennifer Pulliam, director of innovation, TXU Energy. "We know our customers care a lot about saving energy and money, and what better way to make that simple than by connecting them via any Web-enabled PC, tablet or smartphone? Adding an app that serves customers who use Android smartphones is really an expansion of what we've been doing all along: Making it easy for customers to do business with us, wherever and whenever it works best for them."
Last year, TXU Energy became the first electricity retailer in Texas to offer an iPhone app only weeks after the company launched the TXU Energy mobile website, a first of its kind in Texas -- and the nation -- when it was announced last May. Both solutions and the company's new Android app connect TXU Energy's residential customers with some of the most popular features of txu.com.
About the TXU Energy Mobile App for the iPhone
The TXU Energy iPhone app can be downloaded for free through the App Store. Access to the App Store requires an iTunes(R) account. In addition to offering the free download via the App Store, TXU Energy charges no fees to use the app for paying bills and other services.
About the Mobile Website
The TXU Energy mobile website has a similar look and feel to txu.com yet is optimized for smartphone users. The site provides convenient access to service options that customers demand most often, including allowing customers to pay their bills and review their usage. Customers who visit txu.com using a mobile device are automatically presented with a mobile-friendly view of the full site's key features. No special app or download is required. The site can also be accessed from any smartphone via m.txu.com and is available in Spanish.
About the Brighten iThermostat
The Brighten iThermostat includes a thermostat with a color touch screen display and an online portal available through txu.com/myaccount or the TXU Energy iPhone app. It allows customers to program their thermostats to fit their lifestyles, down to the day and hour. The convenience of this control is complemented by the cost savings it offers, as customers can save up to $360 or more over two years just by using its preprogrammed settings. The tool leverages their high-speed Internet connections at home to connect their thermostats with the online- and smartphone-based controls.
About TXU Energy
TXU Energy is a market-leading competitive retail electricity provider, powering the lives of more Texans than any other retailer. TXU Energy offers a variety of innovative products and solutions, allowing both its residential and business customers to choose options that best meet their needs, including exceptional customer service, competitively priced electricity service plans, innovative energy efficiency options, renewable energy programs and other electricity-related products and services. Visit txu.com for more information about TXU Energy. REP #10004.
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SOURCE: TXU Energy
TXU Energy Amanda L. Ray, 972-868-7336 amanda.ray@txu.com http://twitter.com/txuenergy http://www.youtube.com/txuenergy http://www.facebook.com/txuenergy
Copyright Business Wire 2012
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