President’s Posts

SECC’s President & CEO Nathan Shannon shares monthly insights on the relationship between energy consumers and smart energy technology.

Who Should You Target to Maximize Engagement in Utility Programs?

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To better understand exactly who today’s consumers are and how industry stakeholders can reach them with programs and services that better meet their needs, the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative (SECC) recently updated its consumer segmentation framework.
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Helping Consumers Switch to Electricity at Home

While electrification has the potential to provide many benefits to consumers, the road to get there won’t be easy for all consumers. Electric utilities are in a great position to be trusted advisors during this transition and provide education, incentives, financing and other strategies to help consumers move away from fossil fuels.
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Three Ways to Engage Consumers in 2022

Over the past year, the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative has conducted several consumer research studies to assess the energy-related needs and wants of Americans amid this environment of change and evaluate where electricity providers can better meet these needs with innovative programs and services.
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How Utilities Can Better Serve Residential Renters

As electricity providers and other industry stakeholders strive to deliver more equitable energy efficiency and clean energy programs and services, residential renters are one key customer segment for engagement that should not be overlooked.
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Three Things We Learned About Non-Adopters of EVs

To provide insights on the coming EV revolution for electricity providers and other stakeholders, we recently conducted an in-depth study of Americans’ concerns and interest around EVs and related programs and technologies, including demand response and smart home devices.
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Three Challenges in Engaging Small Business Renters

The circumstances of the last two years have proven challenging for many of America’s small businesses. With half of small businesses going out of business within five years during even the best of times, the COVID-19 pandemic has delivered a new set of problems for business owners.
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What’s Stopping Renters from Engaging in Energy?

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To better understand who residential renters are and their attitudes, values and preferences regarding energy management activities and utility programs, the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative (SECC) conducted the “Understanding the Needs and Wants of Renters” report.
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How Utilities Can Drive the Customer Experience Around EVs

About one year ago, President Biden welcomed auto industry leaders to the White House for the announcement of a national goal for half of all new cars and trucks sold to be zero emissions by 2030. While largely a symbolic move, as the executive order is non-binding, it does accurately reflect the immense momentum that has been building within the electric vehicle (EV) industry over the past couple of years.
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Why Some Consumers Have Not Adopted Smart Home Devices

While smart home devices have grown rapidly throughout the past decade, a recent report from the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) suggests that 2021 may be a relative down year for these technologies, with flat revenues and just 11-percent growth in unit sales.
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Racial Equity in the Smart Energy Future

With the social unrest following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May 2020, many in the utility sector began thinking about ways to advance racial equity in the industry – for both their customers as well as their employees.
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Who Are Smart Home Device Owners?

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Promising convenience, entertainment, energy savings and other benefits, smart home devices have taken off in recent years. While the economic uncertainty around COVID-19 seems to have impacted this growth, smart speaker adoption continues to exceed “nearly every consumer electronic device”, including, at one point, the iPhone.
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Addressing Consumer Pain Points to Electric Vehicle Adoption

Over the past year, which has been filled with unprecedented challenges for consumers, the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative (SECC) has continued to research what consumers want from energy...
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What Have We Learned About Today’s Consumers?

Over the past year, which has been filled with unprecedented challenges for consumers, the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative (SECC) has continued to research what consumers want from energy...
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Three Notable Racial Disparities Among Lower-Income Consumers

For the final publication in a series on lower-income energy consumers, the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative (SECC) recently delved into survey responses from 1,000...
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A Letter from SECC’s President Patty Durand

Much has changed in the energy industry in my 10 years as president of the SECC. As I step down from leadership, I would like to share my thoughts about the past decade and...
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Three Obstacles for Lower-Income Energy Consumers

Clean and smart energy technologies, such as rooftop solar, smart thermostats and electric vehicles (EVs), have weathered the COVID-19 pandemic relatively well. Despite a tumultuous...
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The Value of Online Marketplaces During COVID-19

Online marketplaces are uniquely positioned to combat many of the challenges from COVID-19 and help consumers save energy during this difficult time.
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Five Insights on Energy Consumers for 2020

While many electricity providers have become significantly more customer-centric in recent years, how receptive have consumers in the United States and Canada been to this evolution?
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