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 challenge with electric vehicles, like the smart grid, is customer communication July 28, 2011
Posted by Darren Epps in Utility Industry News.Tags: charging stations, customer communications, customer service, electric vehicles, Plug-In 2011, plug-in electric vehicle, utility communications, utility customer engagement, vehicle-to-grid
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The first Plug-In conference, according to those who attended the 2008 show in San Jose, more closely resembled a science fair than an electric vehicle showcase. Several companies unveiled projects and prototypes. People shared really cool ideas. One of the sessions was called, “Progression Toward EVs.”
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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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…)
