Rise of the machines – how to make a successful

smart meter roll-out

todaykWh

Smart meters are utility meters which can monitor energy consumption in real-time and automatically send electronic meter readings to providers. Installations and adoption rates are a growing global trend in the utilities industry.

In the United States, one third of the households already have smart meters1, while in the United Kingdom, the Government’s plan is to ensure smart meters are offered to all customers by autumn 20152. By 2020, it is expected that Europe will have achieved 80% coverage3 and global reach will be 55%4.

This e-book will explore the challenges in this large-scale roll-out and provide some insight on how to overcome them.

INTRODUCTION

Smart meters are a new generation of meter readers. The main purpose of these devices is to have meter readings sent automatically to providers, eliminating manual readings.

However, there is more to it than this. Smart meters build an electronic bridge between energy providers and users, allowing providers to monitor consumption in real-time.

Utility companies can: " Improve operations and streamline processes " Increase the forecasted demand " Improve customer service levels " Give customers greater visibility over usage " Help customers save energy and be more energy conscious

You might ask “Why would an energy company want customers to save energy?” As we all know there is a global environmental concern around becoming more energy efficient. As a result, local governments and regulators have implemented policies and schemes to compel utility companies to reduce energy and gas consumption. Smart meter technology acts as an enabler of this shift in consumer behaviour.

WHAT IS A SMART METER?

Advantages " Fewer resources applied in reading meters and consequently a

reduced carbon footprint " Improved accuracy, with an end to estimated bills " Customers will have greater control over their consumption and

expenses " Utility providers will have a better view of demand which they can use

to improve service and operations

Challenges " Balancing existing and new workloads during the transition period " Managing customers’ expectations and educating them around this

new technology " Enabling utility workers to perform new tasks " Learning how to process the data collected from the meters and

reapply it into improving the service

ADVANTAGES AND CHALLENGES OF A LARGE-SCALE SMART METER ROLL-OUT

Arguably one of the biggest challenges for any organisation rolling out new technology is managing the new workload without losing sight of the existing demand and maintenance work required to keep the level of service at a high standard. This poses the question: how can providers keep their entire customer base happy while only some of them are benefiting from this new technology, either from the same provider or a competitor?

There are two elements on the path to solving this challenge and the key in both is clear and effective communication. Utility providers need to inform customers about their plans and when they can expect their homes to benefit from this new technology. Secondly, these companies need to have the infrastructure and resources in place to complete the roll-out in a timely fashion with minimum disruption to services.

What both elements have in common is the human factor—in order to deliver good service and to keep customers well informed, it is important that utility companies consider their workforce management strategy.

MANAGING CHANGES DURING THE TRANSITION PERIOD

In order to perform a successful roll-out, there is a series of decisions to be made regarding the utility workforce:

" Are there enough field technicians to cover the roll-out without impacting the existing workload?

" Are there enough workers with the right skills to perform all the tasks? " Will the additional employees hired specifically for the roll-out be

redeployed in other areas of the business after completion? " Will a contractor company be used to supplement the existing

workforce? " Will the employees that don’t have smart meter skills receive training? " If training is provided, how does downtime impact capacity? " Will the utility company work as one team or split their workforce,

allocating one group to maintaining customers with no smart meters and have another fully dedicated to the roll-out and customers with the new device?

" If the team is split into two separate workforces, what is the plan to reintegrate these groups after the roll-out is completed?

Utility providers need to make sure that they make informed decisions in order to minimise impact to customer service, customer retention, revenue and growth.

With the use of workforce management software, it is possible to factor in key company objectives and automate processes to improve the overall performance of the company.

SO MANY QUESTIONS!

BUILDING A STRONG WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT STRATEGYThe increased workload and the need for a new set of skills are bound to have an impact on the workforce management cycle.

As utility companies forecast an increase in infrastructure work until 2020, they need to plan ahead how many resources they are likely to need and identify as early as possible if the skills they need are sufficiently available within their own workforce and in the market.

Of course, proper technical training requires time and it is not viable to train field technicians all at once. When planning their capacity, utility providers will need to factor in downtime for training and evaluate solutions such as mobility, which allows on-demand training and minimises downtime.

Mobile workforce management solutions plan the appropriate number of employees required by the business and with the right skill mix, to cover all workloads. Workers with newly acquired smart-meter skills can be scheduled to support the roll-out, while the company retains enough resources to cover the existing workload.

Through task scheduling optimisation, utility companies can improve productivity and maximise the number of jobs per day and per resource. This will help make more time available for the new workload and for essential training.

Completing the cycle, utility companies can analyse their results and performance and use it to further optimise their forecast, planning and so on.

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In order to quickly bridge the skills gap, utility companies are likely to deploy contractors to supplement their workforce. Mobile workforce management solutions can help integrate teams and provide the best customer service to the end customer.

For example, there is software available in the market which offers the capability of linking the schedules of two different organisations. This improves visibility over the availability of the contractors and allows dispatchers at the utility company to seamlessly allocate tasks to both groups, using the same processes.

The utility companies could also extend their mobility solution to their contracted workforce, but give them different permission levels if necessary. This will empower them with the same tools they offer their own workers and improve communications between those two groups whilst assuring the integrity and security of any back-end systems.

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IMPROVING THE RELATIONSHIP WITH CONTRACTORS

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The benefits of smart meters might seem clear to providers and government bodies, but there are customers who are more resistant to this new technology. Reasons for this are varied, but can include:

" Lack of information about the new devices and the reasons for changing

" Lack of trust that the device will work as accurately as having a real person checking consumption

" Concerns about privacy and personal security around data collection and use of this information

" Concerns about price increases as a result of expensive roll-outs or due to inaccurate automated readings

" Social impact of utility workers losing their jobs to the machines " Health impact of having the transmitter installed in their homes " Freedom of choice: some believe they should be given the option to

opt out

THE RESISTANCE

So how do you convince even the most resistant of customers to join the smart metering program? With communication, information and complete transparency. There has been extensive research into smart metering and the benefits it brings, and there are solid proven arguments to refute every point of concern – the key is sharing this information with your customers.

Educating customers is a key part of the strategic planning for the roll-out, well ahead of installation. Going beyond customer satisfaction, it is essential for the program to work at its fullest extension.

Every household is an opportunity to deliver outstanding customer service and encourage customers to buy into the new technology. It is important that customers understand how smart metering can benefit them.

Therefore employee training should go beyond enhancing technical skills. Field workers are often the only point of contact with end customers and play a critical role in customer satisfaction and retention. Thus training should ensure that every employee delivers a consistent message externally and is prepared to take questions and make customers feel more comfortable with the transition.

HOW DO YOU MANAGE YOUR CUSTOMERS’ EXPECTATIONS?

Q&A

Smart meters will soon be collecting data from millions of households and feeding this back into the providers’ systems. The main purpose is to automate meter readings and generate accurate bills, ending the long-running estimated bills, which are deemed to be unfair. However, the information collected by these smart meters can allow providers to achieve much more, but only if they are prepared to process and analyse such a large volume of data. Some of the insights and benefits that can be obtained are:

" Power outage analysis – a survey revealed that 29% of utility industry executives consider this to be their top challenge to be addressed by data analysis.5

" Consumption patterns by time of day, month and geography – understanding how customers are using their utilities can help providers to influence changes. For example, US provider Direct Energy and UK provider British Gas have announced plans to offer free power on Saturdays to domestic users, to “concentrate energy use when demand is low, to reduce demand in the week” 6.

" Service chain optimisation – by having an accurate view of the demand, providers can adjust their operations and improve their service chain. Forecast and planning are done based on real time information, and production and distribution can be adjusted to reflect real data. Additionally, the company can have a more precise view of how many employees are needed and where to support the demand, and as a consequence shift planning and task scheduling can also be optimised.

BIG DATA, BIG INSIGHTS

The advantages of deploying big data analysis projects alongside smart metering programs are clear, however, 47% of utility companies’ executives believe they are not ready to handle such a high volume of data5.

The best way to tackle this issue and prepare for big data is to start big data projects during roll-out, giving companies time to learn before reaching their peak of information influx, at 100% coverage. The first step is to define data analysis goals; the second is to investigate the solutions that are already in place to understand their capacity to receive and process this data and generate meaningful insight. Finally, organisations need to be prepared to change as a result of this new information—there is no real business value in processing and analysing data unless a company is ready to react to it.

ARE YOU READY FOR BIG DATA?

Utility companies are rapidly rolling-out smart meters globally, and have been set challenging goals in terms of coverage expected for the next few years. As a result of this change of technology, some challenges arise, such as how to manage existing and new workloads, how to analyse data that is now being captured and how to manage customers’ expectations.

As in any technology roll-out, the key to success lies in having the right people with the right skills ready to take action. So it is important that companies invest in a strong and optimised workforce management strategy, to ensure a high level of service is maintained during the roll-out.

A solid workforce management strategy will also help utility companies make the most of their existing resources by bringing employee productivity to a peak. This will make more time available to extra tasks and essential training.

Furthermore, utility companies should invest in big data analysis and in customer awareness and satisfaction projects alongside the roll-out, to maximise their final results.

Learn more about ClickSoftware’s solutions for Utilities or contact us at +44 (0) 1628 607000 to start exploring how your organisation can benefit from our industry-specific best practices.

SUMMARY

1. (2012, May). Retrieved from The Smart Grid Observer: http://www.smartgridobserver.com/n5-18-12-1.htm

2. All consumers must be offered energy smart meters by autumn 2015 (2013, November 25). Retrieved November 29, 2013, from ComputerWorld UK: http://www.computerworlduk.com/news/infrastructure/3490766/all-consumers-must-be-offered-energy-smart-meters-by-autumn-2015/

3. (2009, June 27). Retrieved August 18, 2013, from European Smart Metering Industry Group: http://www.esmig.eu/newsstor/press-release-european-parliament-expresses-its-broad-support-for-smart-metering

4. (2012). Retrieved from Pike Research: http://www.navigantresearch.com/research/smart-meters

5. eMeter, a Siemens business: the big data utility survey reveal. (2013). Retrieved August 18, 2013, from Smart Grid Research: http://smartgridresearch.org/standard/emeter-a-siemens-business-the-big-data-utility-survey-reveal/

6. British Gas to offer free power on Saturdays. (2013, August 1). Retrieved August 18, 2013, from Sky News: http://news.sky.com/story/1122977/british-gas-to-offer-free-power-on-saturdays

CITATION SOURCES