April 13
Three Things Consumers Want from Electricity Providers
Top consumer smart grid news hand-selected and brought to you by the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative.
Member News
It’s no surprise that the energy industry is undergoing unprecedented change today. Driven by a number of factors, including innovations in renewable energy generation, the emergence of new entrants into the energy industry and the proliferation of smart meters, utilities are transitioning from transactional, commodity-based business models to improving the customer experience similar to familiar brands like Amazon and Netflix.
Georgia Power provides the best customer experience in the utilities industry, according to a new survey. In the 2018 Temkin Experience Ratings, an annual customer experience survey of some 10,000 U.S. consumers, Georgia Power and FPL tied for the top spot in the utilities industry with a score of 75 percent. This is the second year in a row, and third out of the last four, that Georgia Power received the highest rating in the industry.
Questline, Inc. has announced that it will co-present during two upcoming 2018 CS Week workshops: the Tuesday, May 1 Synergy Group session Before the Storm, featuring outage communications in conjunction with Entergy, and the Wednesday, May 2 Digital Engagement panel discussion in conjunction with PSEG Long Island. Questline will also host a happy hour event on Wednesday, May 2 from 5-7 p.m. To register for the event or to schedule an in-person meeting at booth #326, email marketing@questline.com.
Twelve thousand and counting. That’s the number of electric vehicle charging ports being sponsored by three California utilities: SDG&E, SCE and PG&E. While that number might sound modest, it actually represents a huge increase in capacity compared with what’s available — an estimated 16,000 public stations as of the middle of 2017, with a capacity of 43,000 connectors.
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Industry News
Tomorrow is so yesterday. We’ve been talking about the future for so long, surely we must be knee-deep in it by now. But the problem with tomorrow is this: It’s always in flux. It always needs planning for. It always need another look at strategy before it all comes rushing into today. For today’s utility looking to get a handle on tomorrow, knowing what to plan for (and how) can be a conundrum.
Global wind capacity is set to double by 2027, driven by a rush to capture tax subsidies in the U.S., the rise of emerging markets, and a coming surge for offshore wind. New projections from MAKE Consulting show wind power additions averaging 65 gigawatts a year from 2018 to 2027, equal to a compound annual growth rate of four percent.
Interest in residential energy storage is rising in the U.S., especially when combined with rooftop solar. A new report by EnergySage found that in 2017, 74 percent of solar shoppers surveyed said they were also considering a home battery system. While acknowledging that interest has yet to translate into an equivalent sales volume, the EnergySage report said, “batteries present a massive new market opportunity for installers, manufacturers, lenders and utilities to capitalize on in coming years.”
Oracle Utilities’ Opower Energy Efficiency programs have generated a total of $2 billion in utility bill savings for customers over the past decade, along with making great strides in customer engagement. Launched in 2008, Opower Energy Efficiency programs have been implemented at more than 100 electric and gas utilities around the globe, motivating customers to save more than 17 TWh of energy through multi-channel, personalized communications.
