eMeter pulls in $32 million in funding

eMeter's Energy Engage tracks home energy use.

Smart grid software company eMeter is like the general store in the Gold Rush, according to company CEO Cree Edwards—not particularly glamorous, but absolutely necessary.

Some investors apparently agree about eMeter’s role in the emerging smart grid: the company announced in June that it closed a $32 million funding round, led by Sequoia Capital and Foundation capital.

San Mateo-based eMeter makes software for utilities to manage smart meters, and has about 24 million meters under contract worldwide. In June, the company jumped into the home energy management arena with the release of Energy Engage, an online system for customers to track and manage their power use. The product rolled out with a one-year, 1,000 customer pilot project in Washington, D.C.

While a slew of companies are coming out with home energy management solutions, Edwards says eMeter has an advantage because Energy Engage will be integrated end-to-end with utilities’ back offices. Whereas products from Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) and Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) are designed to serve customers, Energy Engage serves utilities, he adds.

The latest funding round could be the last for the decade-old company. Edwards says he expects the latest injection of capital to carry the company through to profitability.