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
add a comment
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…)
Home energy management and customer engagement: Sprinters should avoid this marathon July 12, 2011
Posted by Scott Johnson in Utility Industry News.Tags: Chartwell, Chartwell Blog, Chartwell research, customer service, energy conservation, energy usage, Google PowerMeter, market research, meter data, online energy information, smart grid, smart meter, utility customer engagement
add a comment
Google and Microsoft’s low-key exit from the home energy management market after just two years underscores what many electric utilities are learning and Chartwell research shows – convincing large numbers of consumers to pay more attention to their energy use and act on that information will be a long, uphill journey. (more…)
Consumer advocate provides smart-meter reality check to utilities at Chartwell summit May 27, 2011
Posted by Scott Johnson in Utility Industry News.Tags: Chartwell, Chartwell Blog, Chartwell research, customer communications, energy usage, market research, meter data, privacy, security, smart grid, smart meter, utilities, utility communications, utility customer engagement, utility customer service, utility market research
add a comment
Arizona’s advocate for residential utility consumers delivered a clear message to industry leaders attending Chartwell’s Smart Grid Customer Education Summit in Phoenix late last month: Increased outreach and education can only improve customers’ perceptions of smart meters and smart grid.
Jodi Jerich, director of the state’s Residential Utility Consumer Office, which represents the interests of residential ratepayers before the Arizona Corporation Commission, noted that public understanding of smart grid technologies is low. She backed this up by citing research from several firms and as I noted previously on this blog, Chartwell research shows about 40% of consumers familiar with their home energy costs say they have not heard of smart meters; about three in four say they have not heard of smart grid. (more…)
It’s simple: Privacy policies should alleviate smart grid concerns June 23, 2010
Posted by Dennis Smith in Utility Industry News.Tags: energy usage, meter data, privacy, smart grid, smart meter, utilities, utility communications, utility customer service, utility marketing
add a comment
Okay, there’s been a lot of talk lately about smart grid-related privacy concerns. In a May 18 Denver Post article, the guy charged with studying the issue for the Colorado Public Utilities Commission went so far as to call the smart grid a “technology that can pierce the blinds.” http://bit.ly/b1Kojq
Pierce the blinds? Really? With comments like that and similar sentiments bandied about, you would think the new smart meter was a revolving video recorder, a robotic device creeping around catching your every move, from how many fat grams you eat and what television shows you watch to how long you shower and what you do in the bedroom. Add smart appliances and thermostats to the mix and you’ve got Big Brother climbing right up your … well, you get the picture.
Okay, once smart grid becomes a reality (more…)
An extra grand now vs. $360/year in savings June 10, 2010
Posted by Jennifer Quay Allen in Utility Industry News.Tags: demand response, energy efficiency, energy usage, meter data, smart appliances, smart grid, smart meter, utilities
3 comments
I recently wrote about the disservice utilities are doing their customers if all they provide them via smart meters is usage data. Unless that data is backed by information, education, and a direct tie to the programs and services that can help them, customers may not know what to do with the data.
Unfortunately, there’s also the whole issue of inertia. (more…)
Is data all it’s cracked up to be? Or: Are you really communicating with your customers? June 1, 2010
Posted by Jennifer Quay Allen in Utility Industry News.Tags: energy usage, meter data, online energy information, smart grid, smart meter, utilities, utility communications, utility customer service, utility marketing
3 comments
Every time I hear that one organization or another will provide smart meter data to residential customers to help them “better manage their usage” or “control their bills,” I wonder to myself, “Huh?”
How does showing customers how much energy they used help them control their bills – even if that data includes increments down to 15 minutes? Customers need a lot more than usage data to make educated and effective changes in the ways they use energy. (more…)
