sonnen Appoints Ani Backa as U.S. Director of Regulatory Strategy and Utility Initiatives

LOS ANGELES, April 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- sonnen, the global market leader in intelligent residential energy storage, announced today that Ani Backa, former attorney and government affairs manager for Xcel Energy, has joined sonnen as U.S. Director of Regulatory Strategy and Utility Initiatives.

Ani's responsibilities at sonnen will include working directly with regulatory bodies and utilities across the country to promote the implementation and expansion of the sonnenCommunity model and help drive innovative electricity services that connect clean, decentralized energy.  In this role, she will foster strategic partnerships with developers and stakeholders committed to the deployment of residential battery storage and sonnenCommunity projects across the U.S. and in other key regions around the world.

"As an outspoken champion of the transition to clean energy, Ani shares sonnen's mission of delivering clean and reliable energy for all, specifically by promoting the benefits of distributed energy storage resources and VPP innovations," said Blake Richetta, Senior Vice President and leader of the Company's U.S. presence.  "With an impressive career as a lawyer in the energy field and as a significant player in the utility space at Xcel Energy, Ani will be a key asset in promoting energy storage regulation. This will support the success of sonnen's partnerships in implementing VPP technology for sonnenCommunity projects, such as the Mandalay Homes Jasper Community. Under her leadership and continued work with local regulatory and utility partners, we will further sonnen's foothold as the premier energy storage provider in the United States."

With deep knowledge of micro and macro energy market trends and breakthrough technological platforms, this new role combines Ani's extensive experience in energy with sonnen's worldwide leadership in home energy management.  Her experience in the regulatory space will support sonnen's efforts in working with utilities as the company continues to successfully deploy VPP initiatives, and bolster existing grid infrastructure to create more clean, resilient and reliable energy communities throughout the U.S. To this end, sonnen will demonstrate to its partners a continued commitment to end-users at all stages of the process with unparalleled customer support.

"I am thrilled to join sonnen at such an exciting and transformative time in the residential energy storage market," said Ani Backa, U.S. Director of Regulatory Strategy and Utility Initiatives at sonnen. "Grid modernization is the key to a sustainable energy future for citizens around the world. sonnen's continued innovation and commitment to grid integration will play a pivotal role in helping utilities increase the flexibility of their existing grid infrastructure, while better managing distributed renewable resources.  I look forward to working with my colleagues in Europe, Australia and South America to drive sonnen's growth through strategic partnerships with energy and utility providers, with the overarching goal of advancing the customer experience."

About sonnen
At sonnen, we believe clean, affordable, and reliable energy for all is one of the greatest challenges of our time. sonnen is a proven global leader in intelligent energy management solutions that provide greater energy control for residential customers through increased solar self-consumption, reduced peak energy usage and reliable backup power during outages ? contributing to a cleaner and more reliable energy future. sonnen has won several awards for its energy innovations, including the 2018 Fast Company Most Innovative Companies in Energy, 2017 Zayed Future Energy Prize, MIT's Technology Review's 50 Smartest Companies in 2016, Global Cleantech 100 for 2015-2017, Greentech Media's 2016 Grid Edge Award for innovation, and Cleantech's 2015 Company of the Year Award in both Israel and Europe.

SOURCE sonnen