E Source Forum: A Compilation of Insights from 2015
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The 2015 E Source Forum, held in Denver, brought together utility professionals to discuss demand-side management, customer engagement, and innovative technologies. Insights from sessions included effective marketing strategies, enhancing customer experiences, and leveraging data and technology for efficiency. Attendees gained practical advice and networking opportunities to implement in their utility practices, with a focus on adapting to changing customer expectations and industry trends.
![www.esource.com/forum20163
Best of DSM Tweets & Comments
Advice from Jan Berman
at PG&E: When you roll
out [advanced metering
infrastructure], be sure
to meter both customer
generation and use, not
the net of both.That is
something she would do
differently.
Mary Medeiros McEnroe | Silicon Valley Power
The trend is to move away
from smart meters in the
grid. Is a smart meter
needed if all of your devices
are smart?
Brian Bischoff | CapTech
How do you meet energy-efficiency
goals that will not just impact your
utility nor the West Coast but the entire
country? Make the case for the retailer
before they place their order.
JD Steedly | Santee Cooper
Meghan Dewey | Pacific Gas and Electric Co.
Another great tip from @FrankRapley: Leverage
technology and big-box retail to enhance trade
allies’ experience. Lowers program costs and
brings savings!
Thomas Wells | Navigant Consulting
@MichaelHarrington of
ConEdison is excited about
the Clean Virtual Power Plant
pilot that allows customers
to purchase solar then access
battery backup through
ConEdison for increased
reliability. Seems like it
might be popular in the post-
Superstorm Sandy world.
dDEMAND-SIDE
MANAGEMENT](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/forum2016-highlights-book-web-160315153712/85/E-Source-Forum-A-Compilation-of-Insights-from-2015-3-320.jpg)
E Source Forum: A Compilation of Insights from 2015
- 1. www.esource.com/forum20161 Last October, utility professionals from all over the US and Canada gathered in Denver for three days for the 2015 E Source Forum. They learned tactics for dealing with increased customer expectations and lofty performance goals for demand-side management (DSM) programs, heard real-life tips for connecting with hard-to-reach customers, and discovered new end-use technologies to consider for programs. What follows is a collection of insights that were shared through these sessions. E Source members can access the Forum 2015 presentations and session notes by visiting www.esource.com/forum2015. 1-800-ESOURCE events@esource.comContact us E SOURCE FORUM A Compilation of Insights from 2015
- 2. www.esource.com/forum20162 Upstream programs are a viable portfolio addition because they: When it comes to midstream programs, experience shows that 60 percent of customers aren’t willing to apply for a $50 rebate.The rebate sweet spot is a three-digit dollar amount. At $100, maybe 98 percent of customers will apply, but when the amount drops to $99, only 85 percent of customers will submit the paperwork. STANDOUT SESSION: Navigating the Tide of Midstream and Upstream Programs d Align program administrators’ interests with those of channel partners and customers Capture savings in underserved market segments Eliminate paperwork and streamline program participation Increase the availability of high- efficiency equipment Require significant planning and resource commitment DEMAND-SIDE MANAGEMENT
- 3. www.esource.com/forum20163 Best of DSM Tweets & Comments Advice from Jan Berman at PG&E: When you roll out [advanced metering infrastructure], be sure to meter both customer generation and use, not the net of both.That is something she would do differently. Mary Medeiros McEnroe | Silicon Valley Power The trend is to move away from smart meters in the grid. Is a smart meter needed if all of your devices are smart? Brian Bischoff | CapTech How do you meet energy-efficiency goals that will not just impact your utility nor the West Coast but the entire country? Make the case for the retailer before they place their order. JD Steedly | Santee Cooper Meghan Dewey | Pacific Gas and Electric Co. Another great tip from @FrankRapley: Leverage technology and big-box retail to enhance trade allies’ experience. Lowers program costs and brings savings! Thomas Wells | Navigant Consulting @MichaelHarrington of ConEdison is excited about the Clean Virtual Power Plant pilot that allows customers to purchase solar then access battery backup through ConEdison for increased reliability. Seems like it might be popular in the post- Superstorm Sandy world. dDEMAND-SIDE MANAGEMENT
- 4. www.esource.com/forum20164 CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE c Where to start your redesign? STANDOUT SESSION: Can You Find It? A Best-Practice Guide to Redesigning Websites Make it mobile-optimized Add and improve key features Summarize and organize information Improve appearance Provide consistency across devices Work toward an omnichannel experience
- 5. www.esource.com/forum20165 CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE cSTANDOUT SESSION: Harnessing the Power of Change to Improve Customer Experience Today’s utility industry is facing massive and unprecedented forces of change. To manage that change, where do you place importance that will help build a positive customer experience? Take an individual-focused approach. According to Scott McAllister, vice president at Prosci, effective change management can be achieved with Prosci’s ADKAR framework: Unpredictable results A lower return on investment Less benefit realization Reduced job security Awareness of the need for change Desire to participate in the change Knowledge of how to change Ability to implement new skills and behaviors Reinforcement to sustain the change Because not all individuals follow the same path in transition, focusing on the whole group can lead to:
- 6. www.esource.com/forum20166 Best of CX Tweets & Comments Four-stage innovation process: (1) analysis and planning; (2) pilot; (3) implementing; and (4) institutionalize.The voice-of-the- customer cycle: analyze, interpret, engage, collaborate, address, implement, listen, capture, compile. Dennis Goodman | SRP Kate Van Gorden | KCP&L Laurie Parker | Nashville Electric Service Add personalized features like communication preferences to increase customer satisfaction. Only about 52% of utility websites offer this currently. Go beyond “contact us” and offer users plenty of areas to provide feedback on the experience. Inspiring words from ComEd’s CEO: “Never be satisfied with the status quo.” Employee- based innovations are tied to higher J.D. Power customer stats. Utilities need to provide customers with a frictionless experience and add more contact points. Jordan McCrindle | IntelliResponse Carolyn Greer | Tennessee Valley Authority A communication plan shouldn’t be a “telling plan” when communicating change. India McKnight | Oncor Electric Delivery Key advice: Listen to the customer and capture what they are saying and how they say it. CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE c
- 7. www.esource.com/forum20167 MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS mSTANDOUT SESSION: Moving Beyond Multicultural Marketing to a Total-Market Strategy Best practices for a total-market approach: Translate websites and promotional materials into multiple languages. Capitalize on the freeway system—everyone shares the experience of using it, but messages need to pass the 60-miles- per-hour test. That is, can your messages be read and understood by someone driving past your billboard at 60 mph? Use general-market ad agencies and minority agencies. They can work together on a “big idea” creative concept that will meet the needs of all customer segments.
- 8. www.esource.com/forum20168 MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS mSTANDOUT SESSION: Turning Around Pepco, the Most Hated Company in America How do you improve the image of the “Most Hated Company in America”? Where do you begin? Blistering press, customer dissatisfaction, and political fallout over service reliability and outage restoration forced Pepco Holdings Inc. to transform its communications strategy.To dramatically improve customer satisfaction and brand reputation in the three years that followed their efforts to turn things around, Pepco: Brought on a new communications team with a strategic focus and deep experience Developed multiyear advertising campaigns focused on reliability improvements, storm restoration, and emergency-response improvements Established a new media relations strategy—proactive, responsive, and transparent Placed strategic emphasis on digital communications like social media, the mobile app, and storm web pages Sharpened its brand identity to increase engagement with the tagline “Energy for a Changing World” Applied lessons learned and used customer research to guide communications strategies and tactics Don’t be afraid to rebrand in the midst of a turnaround campaign.” —Pepco
- 9. www.esource.com/forum20169 Best of Marketing Tweets & Comments Mary Medeiros McEnroe | Silicon Valley Power Comcast is championing the partnership approach so utilities can maintain a voice with the customer. Half of utility customers are already Comcast customers, so it makes sense not to compete with each other. Using front-end employees in advertising helps with trust and tells a more compelling story. Focus on the real people doing the real work. Bring them to life! Meghan Dewey | Pacific Gas and Electric Co. James Cowan | HomeServe “Real people doing real work” makes for effective, genuine communications that connect with customers. Kate Van Gorden | KCP&L Interesting fact: Loss-framing performs five times better for loyalty program communications. MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS m
- 10. www.esource.com/forum201610 TECHNOLOGY tSTANDOUT SESSION: TechQuake: A Brief Trip to the Future of Energy End-Use Technologies Our panel of energy-efficiency technology experts discussed which technologies they think will have the biggest impact on the utility industry in the near future. Here’s what they had to say … Big data, but from the other end—that of the end user. Big data will give commercial and industrial customers more and more information to manage their buildings and will allow them to engage with us when they want to.” —Fred Gordon, Director, Planning & Evaluation, EnergyTrust of Oregon Smart connected devices. Information for residential and non-residential customers will evolve from a widget approach to a service approach.” —Lester Shen, Director, InnovativeTechnologies, Center for Energy and Environment The big-data revolution.The cost to procure information is getting cheaper, and having large quantities of data will help the industry course correct.” —Mangesh Basarkar, Manager, EmergingTechnologies and Portfolio Optimizations, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. Enabling technologies that will streamline our industry and help customers interact with the grid.” —Ryan Fedie Engineering Manager, Energy Efficiency, Bonneville Power Administration The development of platforms to integrate information and enable innovation.” —Aimee Bailey, Resource Planner, City of Palo Alto Utilities
- 11. www.esource.com/forum201611 Best of Tech Tweets & Comments New frontier in lighting: Human-centric lighting to improve our lives—something to help us sleep better! Theresa Drake | Idaho Power Mary Medeiros McEnroe | Silicon Valley Power LEDs are great for indoor agriculture because less heat equals less water.That’s good for a drought! TECHNOLOGY t Hilen Cruz | SRP Think big! Products utilities could offer around electric vehicles: Help customers install home chargers Deploy charging stations in their service territory— money-maker! EV roadside assistance—money-maker! EV-ready homes and more partnerships with builders
- 12. www.esource.com/forum201612 Why You and Your Team Should Be at the 2016 Forum You won’t find another agenda that speaks to your priorities as much as ours does. We address what’s currently on the minds of utility professionals—from designing a successful program with the right technologies to executing a top-notch marketing plan and delivering an excellent customer experience. You’ll gain a network of valuable contacts. At least 80 percent of our attendees are from utilities across the US and Canada. The networking you’ll do during Forum will be an invaluable resource throughout the whole year. We have a lot of fun! We plan activities that help you get to know one another, including a tastes-and-sites tour of Denver, a Red Rocks tour for nature lovers, and a mystery room puzzle- solving adventure, to name a few. Enjoy getting to know your fellow attendees while seeing some sights in Denver. There’s a great mix of sessions. We provide an experience that’s intended to deliver topics in fresh and unique formats. You’ll hear from single speakers and panels of experts as well as learn from your peers in interactive workshops. There’s something for everyone at your utility, no matter what their role is. We offer four topical tracks— Customer Experience, Demand-Side Management, Marketing & Communications, and Technology—so everyone on your team will find value from attending.
- 13. www.esource.com/forum201613 The best utility conference in North America, bar none. An indispensable event where you can connect with colleagues, build professional relationships, and receive and share knowledge with the ‘who’s who’ in the utility space.” —ComEd I find that the content and format of the conference allows me the opportunity to learn and to ask questions about important aspects of the utility industry. I can walk away from the conference with points that benefit our organization instead of, like at other conferences, walking away with nothing but a bag of swag.” —NorthWestern Energy CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE c DEMAND-SIDE MANAGEMENT d MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS m TECHNOLOGY t Industry Disruption: Staying Ahead of the Market and Customers Distribution Planning Meets Customers Where They Live Hitting Next-Generation Program Goals Customer Experience and Managing Perceptions THEMES Plan to join us for the 2016 E SOURCE FORUM SEPTEMBER 13–16, 2016 THE SHERATON DENVER DOWNTOWN DENVER, COLORADO Visit www.esource.com/forum2016 for all the details.