Yesterday the 2013 DistribuTECH Conference and Exhibition concluded in San Diego. For background DistribuTECH is one of the utility industry’s leading smart grid conference and exposition, covering automation and control systems, energy efficiency, demand response, renewable energy integration, advanced metering, T&D system operation and reliability, power delivery equipment, water utility technology, and customer service and engagement.

I had the chance to attend this year’s event, and had the pleasure of sitting in on a number of enlightening presentations and panel discussions, but my favorite was a panel discussion entitled Residential Customer Service Best Practices. David Elve, Chief Marketing Officer at PayGo, moderated this session which had customer service executives from four major investor-owned utilities describe how they use smart grid information, leading technologies, and new business processes to better manage customer engagement.

The participating utility executives were Barbara Jackson from Oncor, Caroline Winn from San Diego Gas & Electric, Bryan Olnick from Florida Power & Light Co., and Steven Malnight from PG&E. The panel discussed their programs, technologies, plans for enhancements, and lessons learned to date.

One of the themes of the panel discussion was that utilities cannot over communicate when informing customers about smart meter rollouts or new programs and services. According to Brian Olnick, utilities need to focus their communication efforts not just on the individual customers, but on all appropriate stakeholders, which can also include organizations such as churches and civic groups.

Another theme was that critical peak rebates seem to be resonating with utility customers. Critical peak rebates allow utilities to call critical events during pre-specified time periods (e.g., 4 p.m.—7 p.m. on summer weekday afternoons). During these events the price for electricity remains the same, but the customer is refunded at a single, predetermined value for any reduction in consumption relative to what the utility deemed the customer was expected to consume. According to Steven Malnight at PG&E, their critical peak rebate participants have saved an average of 8% on their electricity bill.

With the evolution of smart meters and other new technologies the utilities are also finding that key performance indicators are changing. Some of the newer metrics that the panelists have adopted include percentage of customers using “self-service” tools, the number of proactive communications sent, the amount of peak reduction achieved, and increased social media activity.

Thanks to David Elve for putting together such a thought provoking panel and to Penwell for another great event!

Earlier this week I had the pleasure of attending the annual symposium of the Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative (SGCC) in San Diego. For background the SGCC is a nonprofit organization chartered to represent consumers, advocates, utilities, and technology providers in order to advance the adoption of a reliable, efficient, and secure smart grid and ensure long-lasting sustainable benefits to consumers.

The symposium consisted of a number of presentations and panel discussions that focused on issues such as consumer education, communication strategies, social media, and customer engagement

My favorite presentation of the day was from David Lawrence of San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E). He provided an excellent presentation on SDG&E’s social media efforts. His presentation confirmed the findings of recent research conducted at J.D. Power and Associates that interaction within the social media sphere is growing at a rapid pace, and customers’ expectations regarding a utility’s responsibility to respond to their online posts, as well as the concerns they have expressed, have dramatically increased during the past few years.

According to Lawrence, utilities should create a social media strategy with clear goals and objectives that tie to the utility;s business goals. He also suggested that utilities need to become story tellers, as storytelling is the best way to execute a social media strategy because people do not connect with companies but rather stories.

In effort to recognize SGCC members that serve as role models within the industry in the development and implementation of consumer education programs, SGCC presented a top utility and top non-utility award. The winners this year were Comverge for their IntelliMARKET, IntelliSUPPORT and SmartPrice™ Programs and Southern California Edison for their Edison SmartConnect® Program.

Kudos to Patty Durand and her team for an informative symposium!

Electric Light & Power conducted their annual Executive Conference in conjunction with DistribuTECH 2013 this week in San Diego. I very much enjoy this forum and what differentiates EL & P’s approach is anchoring their sessions with speakers who are not usually featured at these kinds of events; but have relevant messages around the issues we face in our respective roles back at the office. This year’s list included: Danielle DiMartino Booth from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Michael Reagan, (elder son of the President Reagan), and Jerry Zucker, Hollywood filmmaker. 

Danielle DiMartino Booth always provides a real and sometimes sobering perspective regarding the macro economic challenges we face as a nation, and provokes her audience to examine the current state, and to consider the economic environment we operate our businesses in each day. She spoke specifically to the recovery of the housing market and why this is important to the electric utility industry. I always leave Ms. DiMartino Booth’s sessions with more questions than answers, but that is the objective and again what differentiates the approach Electric Light & Power uses in conducting their executive sessions.

Michael Reagan addressed how his father would manage these challenging political times, and took the audience on a journey into the mindset and values of  who many believe is America’s most admired president. In addition to providing the audience a behind the scenes view of the campaign trail and into the private residence of the Reagan White House, Michael Reagan provided insight into policy and how President Reagan believed America must use all its resources to become energy independent.

Jerry Zuker, one of Holllywood’s most successful filmmakers delivered a message about reaching your audience and creating messages that resonate. Zuker is the creative genius behind movies such as “Airplane”, the “Naked Gun” series, “Ghost”, and “Friends with Benefits”. His perspective on the energy market comes from being the co-chair of The National Academy of Science & Entertainment Exchange, which is hosting a Future of Energy day for several hundred leading producers, directors, and writers who will interact with prominent energy experts and groundbreaking energy companies.    

The keynotes were complimented with engaging executive member panels on topical issues such as: ”The scorecard for smart grid”, ”What will the blueprint for the utility of the future look like?” and ”Preparing for disruptive events”.

Electric Light & Power also hosts an Awards Dinner and recognizes three categories: “Small Utility CEO of the Year”, “Large Utility CEO of the Year”, and “Utility of the Year”. This year’s recipients were: 

• Small Utility CEO of the Year:  Walter W. Haase, General Manager, Navajo Tribal Utility Authority
• Large Utility CEO of the Year: Joseph M. Rigby, Chairman, President and CEO, Pepco Holdings Inc.
• Utility of the Year: Southern Company; accepting was Thomas A. Fanning, Chairman, President and CEO

I encourage each of you to attend this event next year, you will not be disappointed – January 27 – 29, 2014, San Antonio, Texas

…and thanks to Michael Grossman, Publisher and Teresa Hansen, Editor in Chief

David E. Steele, CMC