Microsoft is partnering with four West Coast utility companies on Microsoft Hohm: Puget Sound Energy, Sacramento Municipal Utility District, Seattle City Light and Xcel Energy.

"Microsoft Hohm will help our customers be more energy efficient by providing new insights and understanding into how they use energy and how they can conserve," said Steve Reynolds, chief executive of Puget Sound Energy.

Microsoft's launch of Hohm comes a month after Google announced that it had partnered with energy companies in six US states, Canada and India in "smart meter" software which allows consumers to monitor their home electricity usage.

The Google PowerMeter can tell residents which devices or appliances in their homes are being electricity hogs and which are being frugal with energy.

The software program receives information from smart meters and sends a detailed report to a home computer on how the power is being divvied up.