Winter heating bills have people surfing to Nicor Web site
When the outside temperature drops, you're more likely to think about ways to say money on your energy costs.
At least, that's what Naperville-based Nicor Inc., parent of Nicor Gas, finds. Because that's when you're most likely to click onto its Energy Depot, an online resource at www.energydepot.com/nicorres/index.asp.
The site was launched about two years ago as a service to customers when natural gas prices soared during the 2005-2006 heating season, after hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
The Energy Depot site provides a library on how to save on natural gas usage. It also aims to help consumers manager their costs.
When the winter months approached in November and December 2006, the site received about 51,000 hits. Then in November-December 2007, it was 77,000, said Nicor spokesman Richard Caragol.
"We do see a significant increase in use during the winter heating season, October to March. In 2007, 65 percent of usage occurred during the winter months," he said.
Energy Depot can also be used to generate a personal energy profile as well as calculate the annual energy costs for customers' complete range of home energy systems and appliances.
Both electric and natural gas can be calculated and show a total usage.
Other features include an online energy audit and frequently asked questions with answers, he said.
In the future, Nicor hopes to establish a program to link customer billing data directly into the Energy Depot, increasing efficiency and allowing customers to complete their personal energy audits more quickly, Caragol said.
Surfing: Oakbrook Terrace-based Computing Technology Industry Association, a trade group for the technology industry, has acquired the Software Marketing Perspectives Conference & Expo, the leading event for software company product and marketing managers.
It was acquired from King Content Co. of Newton, Mass. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The fourth annual Software Marketing Perspectives Conference & Expo is set for May 7-9 at the Santa Clara Convention Center in California.