Utility Consumer 2.0
At year’s end, this is definitely going to be smart grid’s Year of the Consumer.
In California and elsewhere this year, we’ve seen smart meter backlash, time-of-use pricing resistance and a sense that all may not be well with smart grid from a consumer perspective. In retrospect, electric utilities are quickly embracing the idea that good consumer education is an overarching priority and those who are wise in the ways in which they reach out will ultimately win the race.
In the past week, a number of customer-focused reports have surfaced and they bear sharing here.
In its 2010 Electric Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Survey, J.D. Power and Associates noted this week that residential customers of electric utility providers indicate that their monthly electric bill amounts have declined and power reliability has improved from 2009, resulting in a notable increase in overall satisfaction.
At first glance, this flies in the face of what we’ve all been hearing about utility customer dissatisfaction.
The J.D. Power study measured customer satisfaction with their electric utility companies by probing six key factors: power quality and reliability, price, billing and payment, corporate citizenship, communications and customer service. It didn’t specifically probe smart meters and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI).
Here’s what they found: Residential customer satisfaction with utility companies averages 630 on a 1,000-point scale in 2010—increasing from 618 in 2009. In 2010, customer-reported bill amounts decreased by 5 percent from 2009. Power reliability has also improved, the report noted, with customer-reported service interruptions decreasing by 8 percent. Overall, 37 percent of customers indicate experiencing no power interruptions in 2010, compared with 33 percent in 2009.
Drilling down a bit further, I found that the J.D. Power study determined that “fewer than one in six residential customers say they are aware of actions taken by their utility to implement smart grid and smart meter technology.” According to survey results, though, “while overall awareness of utility actions to implement smart grid technology is relatively low, awareness has increased slightly during the past year from 12 percent in July and August 2009 to 16 percent in April and May 2010.”
Clearly, electric utilities still have a lot of work to do.
To be fair, the J.D. Power survey also found that when residential customers are aware of smart electricity technology and their utility’s actions around it, “overall satisfaction with the utility company increases notably. This presents an important opportunity for utility companies seeking to increase customer satisfaction, which often has a significant bearing on rate case decisions.”
The company has also posted individual utility rankings by consumers in each region surveyed by the report.
A day prior to the release of this study, UtiliPoint International released a white paper, “Paving the Road to Smart Grid Success: Enhancing the Focus on Smart Customer Communications.” A case study for HP, the white paper also had some interesting points with regard to consumer engagement. I’d like to share a few of them here.
“To ensure customers achieve intended and potential benefits, utilities must deploy changes in call center processes to communicate the benefits of smart meters,” said the report. “It is very important to establish greater customer communication from the start so customers realize the benefits smart devices can provide. Utilities must help customers understand how this can benefit them long-term in reducing their energy usage and lowering bills.”
Yup. A no-brainer. The big question of 2010 is: What are the best practices for doing so?
“Utilities are finding they must address and eliminate fears that this is just another way for a utility to monitor and control what their consumers are doing in their homes,” the report noted. “This means utilities invest more in educating their customers and creating a positive experience as they start implementing smart metering programs. Education requires using all channels of communication like call center, web, IVR, bills and inserts, television channels, newspaper advertisements, etc.”
On the ground floor, electric utilities across North America are exploring the best ways of doing just that. And privacy is becoming an issue in this, as well. In Canada, Ann Cavoukian, Ontario’s information and privacy commissioner, has given electric utilities a heads-up. Her office’s report, “Privacy by Design: Achieving the Gold Standard in Data Protection for the Smart Grid,” was issued June 16.
What’s the gold standard for the U.S.? Let’s discuss.
I look forward to your comments and your e-mails either here in the forum, or via e-mail at krowland@energycentral.com. Follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/katerowland2
