Johnson Controls plugs in EnergyConnect

Skylights at JCI's Wisconsin headquarters.

Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI) this week announced the company has completed its $32.3 million acquisition of EnergyConnect Group Inc., a Lake Oswego, Ore.-based provider of smart grid demand response services and technologies. 

The acquisition enables Johnson Controls to help building owners and operators manage how much energy their buildings consume and when the energy is consumed – a critical feature of connecting buildings to the smart grid.  

Kevin Evans, former president and CEO of EnergyConnect, said the company has experienced outstanding growth since the launch of its GridConnect platform in 2010. Evans will continue to lead the EnergyConnect team as vice president and general manager for Demand Response Services for Johnson Controls Building Efficiency. 

EnergyConnect reported revenues of $5.8 million in the first quarter of 2010, with a net loss of $1.1 million. In June, the company announced it was awarded a multi-year exclusive contract with West Penn Power to help meet requirements of Pennsylvania's Act 129, which aims to reduce peak demand for electricity by nearly 5 percent by mid-2013. In addition to its Lake Oswego headquarters, the company maintains a facility in Campbell, Calif.

Glendale, Wisc.-based Johnson Controls operates through three major divisions: Automotive Experience, Building Efficiency and Power Solutions. In recent years Johnson Controls has acquired companies including York International, Delphi Corporation, Skymark International. Unlike those buys, the EnergyConnect acquisition is a major move for the company's Building Efficiency group, and a key roll up for smart grid technology on the West Coast.

"This creates a new level of building intelligence,” Dave Myers, vice president of Johnson Controls and president of the company’s Building Efficiency business, said in a statement. 

Johnson Controls' stock hit a new 52-week high on Thursday, hovering over $43 per share in after-hours trading. Just two years ago, as its automotive business in Detroit went sideways, the company's stock was struggling to rise above $20 per share.