The industry keeps getting smarter and smarter: Hot topics at DistribuTECH January 31, 2012
Posted by Dennis Smith in Utility Industry News.Tags: Chartwell, Chartwell Blog, customer engagement, Customer service automation, demand response, DistribuTECH, electric vehicle, electric vehicles, energy conservation, energy usage, meter data, mobile apps, online energy information, plug-in electric vehicle, smart grid, smart meter, smart meters, utilities, utility, utility communications
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Analytics, metrics, meters, home automation gadgets, bucket trucks, plug-in electric cars, dog bite repellent and some remote control vehicle that looked like the Mars lander. Even Hooter’s girls. Yes, the 2012 DistribuTECH had something for just about everyone last week in San Antonio.
Once again, the exhibit hall was extensive, or, as one attendee quipped, “big enough to land a [Boeing] 747 on.” We at Chartwell couldn’t cover it all. So we stayed focused. What was there to improve the utility customer experience? And the answer: still plenty. Here’s a recap (more…)
The Top 10 Chartwell member requests of 2011; and other stuff to look back upon December 28, 2011
Posted by Dennis Smith in Utility Industry News.Tags: 2011, billing and payment, call center, Chartwell, Chartwell Blog, Chartwell member requests, Chartwell research, customer engagement, customer satisfaction, customer self service, customer service, electric vehicle, mobile communications, smart grid, utilities, utilities in 2011, utility, utility customer engagement, utility customer service, utility marketing, Web-based customer service
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It has been an interesting year to say the least. 2011 was a year of more positives for Apple and Google and negatives for BlackBerry and Netflix (remember its Qwikster fiasco). It’s been a year marked by the deaths of Osama bin Laden, Muammar Gaddafi and Kim Jong Il, a devastating tsunami and accompanying earthquake, political protests at home and abroad, and Republican presidential hopefuls rising and falling faster than a roller coaster at Six Flags. And in keeping with year’s past, Congress failed once again … and again (You can’t even cut spending when you’re this deep in debt?!), and another NFL team made a run at undefeated glory only to stumble toward the finish line. Maybe the Green Bay Packers will still repeat with another Super Bowl win – 2012 will tell that tale.
Oh, and the financial struggles of recent years continued.
The year is also one that’s been big for the utility industry. It’s been marked by several high-profile merger proposals, continued smart meter protests and the mass market introduction of the plug-in electric vehicle (EV). It will be interesting in the coming year to see (more…)
Big electric vehicle ideas aren’t just limited to the West Coast December 10, 2010
Posted by Darren Epps in Utility Industry News.Tags: customer service, Customer service automation, electric vehicle, energy usage, gasoline, plug-in electric vehicle, rates, smart grid, smart meter, utilities, utility customer engagement, utility customer service, utility marketing
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. – California utilities aren’t the only ones playing a major role in the deployment of electric vehicles. That observation was inescapable after leaders from TVA, DTE Energy, FPL, Duke Energy and Southern Company convened for a panel I moderated at the NAATBatt annual conference this week in Louisville. From Michigan to Florida, and North Carolina to Mississippi, utility leaders are contributing to electric vehicle discussion and education.
Let’s hit the highlights:
Electric vehicle promoters: Tree huggers, utility professionals and other fine folks October 14, 2010
Posted by Darren Epps in Utility Industry News.Tags: electric vehicle, energy efficiency, Leaf, plug-in electric vehicle, smart grid, smart meter, transformers, utilities, utility customer engagement, utility customer service, utility marketing, vehicle-to-grid, wind power
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Austin Energy’s director of emerging transportation technologies, Austan Librach, shared a smart comment from a brilliant man during Chartwell’s Electric Vehicle Programs webinar last week. He said former CIA director James Woolsey once affectionately referred to the Plug-In Partners coalition as “tree huggers, do-gooders, sodbusters, chief hawks and evangelicals.” (A sodbuster is a farmer, not Charlie Brown after every field-goal attempt.)
Quite an eclectic group. Two years later, another word applied to Librach and his fellow Plug-In Partners (who promoted electric vehicles to automakers) – winners. The coalition declared victory in October 2008. As evidenced by the increasing number of companies manufacturing electric vehicles – Lance Armstrong got his Leaf – automakers are convinced.
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More consumers will accept the smart grid. Not everyone bought a cell phone on the first day August 13, 2010
Posted by Darren Epps in Utility Industry News.Tags: billing and payment, cell phones, electric vehicle, privacy, radiation, radio frequency, smart grid, smart meter, utilities, utility communications, utility customer engagement, utility marketing, Web-based transactions
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Read this New York Times article from 2000. Ten years after uncertainty swirled around the cell phone (in addition to reports of exploding batteries and rumors that using your cell while pumping gas can cause a fire), we’re seeing a similar pattern of uneasiness and misinformation surrounding smart meters. The correction at the bottom of the NYT piece only reinforces the point.
From Baltimore to Northern California, groups of consumers and regulators are rebelling against smart grids and meters. The Department of Energy will decide Aug. 16 whether Baltimore Gas & Electric can keep a $200 million grant for its embattled smart grid project after the Maryland Public Service Commission rejected the plan in June. (Maryland regulators will probably decide on the revised plan before then.) Instances of customers ordering smart meter installers off their property are being reported in California. (more…)
Coming soon to your grid: plug-in electric vehicles July 30, 2010
Posted by Darren Epps in Utility Industry News.Tags: charging stations, electric vehicle, energy efficiency, energy usage, gasoline, plug-in electric vehicle, rates, smart appliances, smart grid, smart meter, utilities
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CODA Automotive announced the gasoline pump’s demise at a Santa Monica gas station last month. (I thought it at least deserved a montage on CNN.) Clever advertising? Sure. Accurate? Actually, the date of death on that headstone is closer than you think.
New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, unveiling the Big Apple’s first electric car charging station on July 14, said the electric vehicle “is not just a pipe dream or a scene from ‘The Jetsons.’ It is here and it is here right now.” (more…)
