July 14
Five Trends to Watch in Utility Customer Engagement
Top consumer smart grid news hand-selected and brought to you by the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative.
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Utilities across the globe are transitioning, shifting their role from passive commodity providers to customer-centric service providers. Sustainable utilities are developing energy partnerships with their customers that revolve around creating valuable customer experiences. To do so, many utilities are providing real-time data access to connected devices that make customers’ lives simpler by allowing them to monitor, analyze and control their energy usage.
ComEd has helped its customers save $2.5 billion on their energy bills since the launch of the company’s energy efficiency program in 2008. The utility is confident its energy efficiency savings will almost double by 2030 as a result of the implementation of the Future Energy Jobs Act.
Georgia Power topped a nationwide study of utilities focused on the most trusted brands among business customers. The Cogent Reports study by MSI placed Southern Co. unit Georgia Power at No. 1 with a brand trust index of 795, two points ahead of the second-place LA Department of Water & Power. The study’s scores are on a maximum scale of 1,000 points and analyzed more than 50 consumption, environmental, service, digital and rate offerings.
When it comes to trying out new things, many utilities are notoriously slow-moving and risk averse, and many of their pilot projects can be ineffective as a result. So how do you change an industry that moves slowly but is nonetheless undergoing a major energy and digital transformation? There a variety of strategies -- from better utility and stakeholder collaboration to a focus on new technology that can scale -- that could help with the problem.
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Industry News
When it comes to trying out new things, many utilities are notoriously slow-moving and risk averse, and many of their pilot projects can be ineffective as a result. So how do you change an industry that moves slowly but is nonetheless undergoing a major energy and digital transformation? There a variety of strategies -- from better utility and stakeholder collaboration to a focus on new technology that can scale -- that could help with the problem.
EEI and IEI estimate there will be more than seven million plug-in electric vehicles on the road in the United States by 2025. A recent report also estimated that the growth of plug-in electric vehicles will require the 5 million charging ports. Current estimates indicate that there are between 50,000 to 70,000 charging stations, mostly at workplaces and public locations.
Innovation in EVs and EV charging, supported by a dynamic marketplace, has fueled record-breaking EV adoption over the past year. Continuing to accelerate EV adoption is critical to meeting global climate goals and providing electric utilities with much needed electric load to maintain affordable rates. Sound utility program design is key to successfully incentivizing charging infrastructure deployment and finding the win-win for the utility and the EV market.
Solar farms planted on an abandoned nuclear plant site or powering a coal museum or atop a strip mine offer stark images of the ascendance of renewables. But forget metaphorical images -- utility-scale renewable electricity generation in March and April actually surpassed nuclear for the first time since July 1984.
